Truth and Lies
by Paschka
Summary: Charlie is back, but where has he been?
1. Chapter 1

Notes from Paschka – 1. This story is a direct continuation of my first story "Vanishing." I recommend reading that first if you have not already done so.

2. I know nothing about spy agencies, computers, hacking or math. Anything in this story that looks like fact is me bluffing.

CHAPTER ONE

Confession

"So you know I can't tell you everything, right?" Charlie said, stealing a piece of Don's toast and popping it in his mouth.

Don shrugged. "If you say so. Don't touch my toast."

"You know I work for some organizations right, like the NSA, CIA, Homeland Security, Military, INTERPOL, CDC, whatever." Charlie sighed and shook his head. "Well, this mostly has nothing to do with any of those organizations, but I can't tell you who I was working for because it's classified."

Don snorted in disgust. "So we should just go with 'good guys' and 'bad guys'?" he asked sarcastically.

"That'll work. I'll… It's an international agency, sort of like INTERPOL, but we deal with things like terrorism and all that." Charlie looked over at the three laptops sitting open on the kitchen table, then leaned forward and shut them. "Is anyone else here?"

"No, Lauren's at the office. Dad's in Florida. We should call him."

"Yeah, later. Anyway, most of the stuff I do for them is cryptology. I code their transmissions and messages, and decode… other things."

"How long have you been working for them?"

"Six years now, I think."

"Like a full-time kind of thing? Or do you just consult sometimes?"

"It's pretty much an on-going thing," Charlie said. "I mostly work from here or even Calsci or the garage if I don't want anyone to see. It's high level stuff. You'd have to know what I'm working on to even get an idea…"

"Yeah, I'm beginning to realize that about your math," Don said, not sounding particularly impressed. "It's really annoying."

Charlie smiled and shrugged. "It was no big deal at first. It was such a high level of clearance that no one knew anything about what I was doing, including the 'bad guys' so to speak. I was never bothered. It was easy, really, until three years ago."

"When you met Marjolie."

Charlie looked down at his hands again, and Don knew he'd hit a bit of a sore spot. Charlie frowned and rubbed his thumb over the bruised knuckles. "Yeah, I guess right around then it all went to hell."

"She a really nice girl," Don offered.

Charlie looked up at him with a frown. "Oh? Just how much time have you two been spending together?"

"Don't even… It's not like that!" Don protested.

Charlie laughed. "Yeah, I know, I'm just teasing. And I'm really tired. Sorry. Anyway, three years ago I was in Europe on a lecture tour. Marjolie and I met in Germany. She was looking for a horse for one of her clients, and we hit it off, I guess. She came with me."

"She must have really liked you to have just dropped what she was doing and gone with you," Don said, trying to sound supportive.

"Sure. Not that any of that matters now," Charlie said. "Now she's afraid of me."

Don couldn't help but laugh. "I don't think she's afraid of _you,_ Chuck. She's afraid of the scary people that were after you at the time."

"Same thing," Charlie muttered.

"How exactly _do_ you feel about her?" Don asked curiously.

"At one point, I would have married her," Charlie said, looking at Don for a moment before looking at his coffee mug with a moody frown. "But then this whole thing happened, and she and I agreed it wasn't a good idea, and now that we've been apart so long… I guess we're just very good friends now. It's never going to get further than that."

"What about Amita?"

Charlie shrugged. "Me being an idiot. Don't get me wrong, I…" He stood suddenly. "I don't want to talk about this; can we get back to the story now?"

"Yeah," Don said in surprise as Charlie poured himself some more coffee. "Yeah, so three years ago…"

"I was in Germany, with Marjolie when they started showing up."

"They?"

Charlie sighed in frustration and shook his head. "I'm not sure I can tell you…"

"Charlie, I'm not going to understand any of this if you're going to be vague," Don said. "I'm not going to tell anyone else about this."

"I know that."

"Then tell me."

"It's an organization called the Ninth Alliance. They deal in terrorism and warfare: weapons, planes, armoured cars, bombs; all the stuff the bad guys need to cause mayhem, pretty much. They're international, they have people everywhere, and they're really very good at what they do."

"And they found out about you."

"Yeah. I had been I guess instrumental in stopping some pretty big transactions that the Ninth Alliance had organized. Somehow, my name got over to them and they started contacting me. I wasn't too worried… I've been contacted by people before that would get me arrested for treason if I had accepted the offers."

"So when you did lose your clearance…"

"We'll get to that later," Charlie said. He rubbed his eyes.

"Do you want some ice for your eye?" Don asked.

"Uh, no. This happened, like, five days ago," Charlie said. "Where's my laptop?"

"In my office, locked away safely," Don said.

"And my cell phone?"

Don motioned upstairs. "In my room. I've kept it charged and everything, just in case."

"Yeah, Alecia mentioned she'd talked to you," Charlie said with a small smile.

"She just barked out an order and hung up," Don said. "You should tell her to get some phone manners."

"I would, if she weren't the scariest person I know," Charlie said with a laugh. "Seriously, she's like Dad's age and British, and she could probably put Colby on the ground with her bare hands. It's awesome."

"Yeah, well, she told me you were coming home two months ago, and I've been waiting."

"Yeah, we ran into a small problem."

"Oh?"

"Later. Anyway, three years ago, in Germany, I was approached by the Ninth Alliance. They were pretty impressed with me, and offered me a job. I refused. It went back and forth for a while, and they tried a bit of intimidation, but then Alecia had it taken care of."

"Is she the boss then?"

"Not really, no. But she is the main point of contact, for me anyway. By the time it was all finished, Marjolie had gone home and been scared enough to not want too much to do with me anymore."

"I noticed you bought her a horse," Don said with a grin.

Charlie laughed. "Yeah, you have no idea. I know nothing about horses."

"So the Ninth Alliance didn't try to hurt you then?" Don asked, steering the conversation back on track.

"No. And as it turned out, they didn't try to go after anyone I know either, like you or Dad or Marjolie. They know they won't get my cooperation with intimidation. It just doesn't work that way."

"I've seen it work plenty of times, buddy," Don reminded him.

"Yes, but I'm not going to create a code for them that's very nearly unable to be solved when my family is at stake," Charlie said. "Ok, that didn't make sense. Obviously, when my family is at stake, I would do whatever it took to ensure their safety. However, with the way these things work, there's no way to get all of my focus and attention on what they want if I have that hanging over my head. I could just as easily create a code that would tell Alecia exactly what's going on, you know what I mean? I'm not explaining this very well."

"I think I understand," Don said, prodding the story forward. "So Marjolie went home, and Alecia took care of the Ninth Alliance. Can I ask how?"

Charlie shrugged. "I don't know. I imagine some people didn't survive it on their end. I'm not really privy to tactical information of that sort. I only need to know what I need to know. I don't want to know about assassinations and murder and violence and all of that, unless I'm in a position to stop it or a position where I'll want to stop it. I don't need that on my conscience."

"Ok," Don said. "I understand."

Charlie rubbed his eyes again and ran his hands through his hair. "I'm sorry, I'm about to drop here. I'm going to take a shower, if that's alright, and crash for a little while."

Don nodded and tried to hide his disappointment. He really wanted to get to what happened eight months ago when Charlie disappeared. "Ok. Everything is still where it was when you left."

Charlie nodded and left the kitchen.

CHAPTER TWO: Allowance.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Allowance

Don walked back into the kitchen after having changed into jeans and a t-shirt, and eyed the phone. He really should call his father, but was dreading it. Instead, he took out his cell and phoned Lauren. She picked up immediately.

"Hey, darling, miss me already?" she asked lightly.

Don was silent for a moment. "Charlie's home," he finally blurted out.

"What?" Lauren asked, sounding shocked. "Are you serious? Is he all right?"

"He looks a little beat up, but mostly alright," Don said quietly, listening to the shower being turned off. He for some reason wanted to make sure Charlie wouldn't disappear again. "Hey, listen, I know I promised we'd go to the gallery today…"

"Oh, honey, don't worry about it. You and Charlie should catch up. Why don't I just go with some of my friends, and give you and Charlie some space? You can call me when you're ready for me to come over."

Don nodded and closed his eyes in relief. "Thanks. Really, we'll go to that gallery eventually…"

Lauren laughed. "Not if you keep making excuses. This is the third time you've cancelled on me, mister. If I didn't know you had a good excuse you'd be in big trouble."

Don smiled. "I hear you. I gotta go."

"Ok. Call me."

"Will do." Don flipped the phone closed and was grateful to have a girlfriend who was supportive and understanding. She was perhaps the least demanding person he had ever met, and it made his life a lot less stressful.

Don listened for signs of life from upstairs, and hearing none, quietly climbed up and peeked into Charlie's room.

He was fast asleep on his bed and hadn't even bothered to throw back the covers. Don walked into the room and watched him for a moment, sending a silent thank-you to whoever had brought his brother home safely. Charlie had pulled on a comfortable set of track pants and t-shirt from his closet, and Don was suddenly reminded that Charlie had shown up empty handed. Just as he'd left.

Don tried to wrap his mind around the fact that his little brother had apparently been working for a secret organization the entire time Don had been back. It just didn't seem possible. Charlie couldn't keep a secret. Except that he obviously had. The bruise on his face looked painful, but wasn't too badly swollen, although if it had happened five days ago, he figured the swelling would have mostly gone down. Then there were the bruised knuckles. Had Charlie actually punched someone? Don tried to picture it and just couldn't. Charlie hated violence of any kind, and would probably be the first to turn and run if confronted with a situation. But then that idea he had of his little brother didn't seem to match the idea of Charlie working as a code-breaker for a secret organization. Don wondered what other injuries Charlie's clothes were hiding.

Don wandered back downstairs and picked up the phone to call his father. Alan answered after a couple of rings.

"Hey Dad," Don said in greeting.

"Hello Don, is everything alright?" Alan sounded worried.

"Yeah, everything's fine."

"You don't usually call me when I'm away," Alan pointed out.

"Are you sitting down? I don't want you freaking out."

"Don," Alan said sternly. "What's happened? Is it Charlie?"

"Yeah, it's Charlie. He's here."

There was a long period of silence and Don wondered if he should have just waited until his father was home before springing the news on him.

"I'll be on the next flight home," Alan said, his voice trembling slightly. "Is he ok? Put him on the phone."

"He's fine, Dad. He's asleep. He hadn't slept in a couple of days. I really don't want to wake him up."

"Alright. I'm going to drive to the airport right now and get on the next flight home. I'm calling you back in an hour or so and I expect to speak to Charlie."

"Ok, I'll let him know," Don said. "Though I don't know if he'll be awake…"

"One hour," Alan repeated sternly.

"Alright," Don agreed quickly. "I'll talk to you in a bit, dad."

Don walked to the fridge and pulled it open, searching for a suitable lunch. With his father having been gone for two weeks, however, the fridge was sadly empty. Order pizza for lunch? Swing by the local deli? Don didn't want to leave Charlie out of his sight, or at least earshot.

He picked up his cell again and dialed Colby's cell number while searching the cupboard for anything appropriate to eat. Chips? Crackers? This was ridiculous.

"Hello?" Colby groggily answered.

"Colby, hey, it's Don."

"Do we have a case?" Colby asked, sounding a bit more alert.

"Uh, no. Charlie's home."

"That… that's awesome, man," Colby said, sounding wide awake now. "Can I come over?"

"Uh, yeah. D'you think you can swing by somewhere and get some lunch? Charlie's sleeping, but I don't really want to leave him out of my sight."

"Sure, no problem. I'll stop by and pick David up, while I'm at it."

"Yeah, I haven't called him yet, but I'll do that now, give him a heads up."

"Is he alright?"

"Yeah, seems ok."

"Good. I'll see you in a bit."

"Thanks, Colby." Don flipped the phone closed again, then opened it and dialed David, who cheerfully answered after two rings.

"Tell me we have a case," David said. "I'm at a family reunion and would love nothing more than to bail."

"Charlie is home. Good enough reason?" Don said with a grin.

"I'm on my way," David said.

"Colby's swinging by to get you. You might want to call him if you're somewhere else."

"Ok." David hung up and Don couldn't help feeling a bit pleased with himself. They were bringing lunch, which meant he wouldn't have to leave the house – and Charlie.

CHAPTER THREE: Joy


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER THREE

Joy

"Hello?" Colby called as he walked into Charlie's house. He hadn't bothered to knock, since his hands were full with bags from a favourite deli. Don hurried into the living room.

"Hey guys," he said, shutting the door behind David. "Charlie's still asleep."

"Oh, ok," Colby said with a shrug, walking into the kitchen and dropping everything onto the table. "So when's your dad coming home?"

"He's at the airport right how, but there's bad weather in Florida, so he's not sure when he'll be able to fly out," Don said. "He's fuming."

David and Colby laughed and sat down. "So how is he?" David asked.

"He seems ok. A little bruised. Tired, I guess."

"Has he said anything about where he's been?" Colby asked. "Anything we're allowed to know?"

Don shook his head. "No."

They were quiet for a moment and David started to unpack lunch. "So if you need to take a couple of days," David said. "Colby and I can handle the cases."

"You and Colby _and _Murphy," Don reminded him, causing groans from Colby and David. "Look, guys, really. You're going to have to accept at some point that Megan is not coming back," Don said, feeling like a kindergarten teacher. "I know Murphy is a rookie-"

Colby snorted in disgust.

"But he's not going to learn if you two don't let him do anything."

"I swear, Don, I've never been that green," David protested. "I never did things as by the book as that kid. He's got the manual memorized!"

"And he keeps quoting it," Colby added. "I've never even read it."

Don rolled his eyes at them both. "Whatever, you two. The director insisted we hire a rookie, so Murphy is staying. And I gotta say, he's not nearly as bad as you two make him out to be."

"Who is?" Charlie asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Charlie!" Colby exclaimed, jumping to his feet and giving a surprised Charlie a hug. "You're back! It's good to see you!"

Charlie smiled and nodded. "Yeah, you too. Hey David."

"Hey Charlie, how've you been, man?"

"Good, good," Charlie said, sounding distracted and pouring himself another coffee.

"You're going to overdose on caffeine," Don warned.

Charlie threw him a glare and sat down at the table. "Whatever, I'm tired. Is that lunch?"

"Yeah. There was nothing in the fridge," Don said somewhat sheepishly.

Charlie nodded and grabbed a sandwich. "So who's not that bad?"

"Our new team member," Colby complained. "Oliver Murphy. Total, complete rookie. Seriously. Just wait till you meet him."

Charlie smiled. "That bad? Are you sure you're not just missing Megan?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Colby said. "So, where've you been? You don't have to give us details, if it's classified or something, but y'know. Whatever you can tell us."

Charlie shrugged. "Europe. I was in Spain for a while. Italy. Then South Africa for a while. All over, really, didn't stay still for very long."

"Awesome," Colby said excitedly.

Charlie nodded and pulled a notepad and pen off the kitchen counter. He started scribbling absent-mindedly. "Yeah. It's good to be back, though."

"You have no idea how often people ask about you," David said.

"Really," Charlie asked, looking up for a moment with a slight grin. "Like who?"

"_Everyone_," Colby said. "Jane MacRooney finds an excuse to be on our floor nearly every day, especially when she got this _massive _fraud case about two months ago. The Director even asks every once in a while. So can I ask if you have your clearance back now?"

"We'll see," Charlie said. "I don't really know what's going on around here at the moment. I haven't talked to anyone except Don." Charlie flipped a page over and continued writing. "And, anyway, I don't know what's going on with… well, with what's been going on. Sorry, I don't know."

"That's cool," Colby said, nodding. He looked over at Don, who was watching Charlie like a hawk. "It'd be really great to have your help on cases again."

"Yeah," Charlie agreed. "It'd be great to work with you guys again. And I'm sorry for disappearing on you guys. I probably worried you a bit-"

"A lot," Don corrected.

"A lot," Charlie agreed. "But I didn't want to. Really, I am sorry."

"We know you didn't do it on purpose," David said amicably. "We totally understand you needed to leave."

Charlie flipped over another page and determinedly set the notepad aside. "So, what's going on with you guys? I haven't seen either of you in forever."

David laughed. "Well, you know us, we're pretty much the job and have no personal lives."

Charlie laughed as well, and soon the four of them were talking about cases and sports and each other's personal lives like they would before Charlie disappeared.

CHAPTER FOUR: Calculated Truths


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Calculated Truths

Don closed the door behind Colby and David and turned to look at Charlie who was lying down on the couch with an arm draped over his eyes.

"You can go back to bed, if you want," Don offered, though he hoped Charlie wouldn't do so.

Charlie didn't move for a few moments. "S'ok. I'm too tired."

"Oh," Don said, sitting down and watching him. "Are you hurt? Tell me the truth."

Charlie lifted his arm a little to peer over at him. "My face is sorta bruised," he said wryly.

Don rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I meant what else."

"I've got some bruised ribs. It's nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure? Have you been to see a doctor?"

"Yeah, I had someone look at it," Charlie muttered, sounding a tad annoyed.

Don noted that Charlie said 'someone', not 'doctor' and filed it away for future discussion. "Want some Tylenol or something?"

"No, I'm good."

"You didn't eat very much…"

"Don," Charlie said. "I'm too tired to have you whining at me."

"I'm not whining," Don said defensively. "I'm worried."

"Well don't be. I'm fine."

"So did you want to sleep or can we continue with the story?"

"I'm too tired to sleep," Charlie said. "Where did we leave off?"

"Marjolie went home, and the Ninth Alliance stopped bothering you."

"Right," Charlie said. "So I stayed in Europe a bit longer than planned, just to check in with… our organization… and make sure everything is ok. They wanted to make sure there wasn't a price on my head, and I kind of did too."

Don nodded and tried to remember when Charlie had gone to Europe for several months. It must have been fairly shortly after their mother had passed away, but Don couldn't remember at all.

"Anyway, it all worked out fine," Charlie continued. "And after a month or so I went home. We decided I should stay away from decoding for a little while, just to let things cool down."

"Are you going to name this place you're working for?" Don asked.

Charlie dropped his arm to look at him. "We're called the International Intelligence Cooperation. IIC. You can probably kind of guess what we're all about." He covered his eyes again. "_Anyway_, I stayed away for nearly six months, before resuming my work with them. As before, with no problems."

"How can that be? Why wouldn't they come after you if they know you're breaking their codes and causing them problems? I don't understand."

Charlie sighed exasperatedly, and Don could tell he was tired. "Not to sound conceited or anything, but there are about 5 people in the entire world who can code and decode at my level. They don't want to kill me, they want me to work for them, and be happy about doing so."

"But the guys in Germany…"

"A misunderstanding, if you will."

Don snorted. "Well aren't you all civilized."

"Whatever. So, nothing much to tell you for a couple of years. Then eight months ago, Jimmy Dean showed up at the house and told me that we needed to go, and go immediately."

"Jimmy Dean?"

"Yeah, that's not his real name, but he's one of the IIC. A field agent. My age, very good with a gun. Could probably outshoot Edgerton. Anyway, a price had been put on my head, and they needed me to run."

CHAPTER FIVE: Anger


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

Anger

Charlie paused for a moment and looked over at Don. "Can I have my cell phone?"

"What, now?" Don exclaimed. "We're in the middle of the story!"

"Alright," Charlie muttered. "Just asking. Anyway, so Jimmy Dean shows up at my door on… I think it was a Monday."

"Yeah, you were supposed to show up for dinner with Amita, and you last checked your voicemail later that day," Don helpfully added.

"Right. How is Amita?"

"She moved away. To Harvard, I think. Larry comes to the house once in a while to play chess with Dad, and he mentioned… Sorry."

Charlie shrugged. "It's fine. Jimmy Dean and I went straight to the airport, where he chartered a flight. We went to Spain."

"Why Spain?"

"Why not Spain? Might as well go somewhere with good weather. Anyway, we went to Ávila, because it was summer and it can get really hot in Spain. Ávila tends to be a bit cooler because of the mountains. There's a really nice hotel there called the Palacio de Los Velada-"

"I don't need a travel guide, buddy," Don said, prodding the story forward.

Charlie rolled his eyes. "I'm just saying, if you ever wanted to go that's where you should stay."

"Can I afford it?" Don asked.

Charlie shrugged and sat up. "I don't know. Jimmy Dean picked Ávila because it's an old town, from I believe the 15th century, and surrounded by a wall. It's got many little windy streets and old buildings and such, and a lot of tourists. Perfect to hide, according to him. So we got a couple of rooms at the Palacio, and set up a bit of an IIC field office. We had four agents there, and our plan was to launch a full-on assault on the Ninth Alliance to get them to take me off their list."

"Do the other four agents have names?"

"No one goes by their real names-"

"What do you go by?" Don asked curiously.

"Ok, except me. They don't use my last name. Just Charlie. Anyway, so we had Jimmy Dean, who is a weapons and protection specialist, and Anna Monroe, a hacker, Donna Turner, who does what Jimmy Dean does, and Kate." Charlie sighed again. "I'm starving."

"Well if you had eaten when Colby and David were here…"

"Shut up, Don," Charlie said good-naturedly, standing up to walk into the kitchen. "When's Dad coming back?"

"Whenever Florida decides to stop having a hurricane," Don said. "He called when you were asleep."

Charlie returned with one of the left over sandwiches and carefully sat down.

"Bruised ribs?" Don asked with a short laugh.

"Funny. They hurt."

"I know the feeling."

"Well, I wish I didn't," Charlie said.

"So, Jimmy Dean, Anna Monroe, Donna Turner and Kate…?"

"Just Kate. She's like me."

"A math wiz?"

"Uh, no, not math. Ballistics specialist. She's very good at blowing things up."

"I see. I think."

"So as it turns out, the Ninth Alliance has a base in Ávila, at the Parador de Ávila, which is a hotel. They keep a suite there."

Don snorted in disgust. "High priced?"

"Yeah."

"Sophisticated spies. Whatever happened to roughing it? When I was with fugitive recovery we would sleep in our car!"

"Well, we're not with the Government," Charlie replied testily. "We're funded internationally, and we set our own price tags for things. If the US government wants our help with something they're going to have to pay for it."

"You're a US citizen!" Don exclaimed indignantly. "There are patriotic duties-"

"Yeah, which get me put on a hit list," Charlie interrupted. "And suddenly my government is no where to be found. I'm not getting into an argument over patriotism, thank you. I've done plenty for this country, and others as well."

"Alright," Don said, holding his hands up in a truce. "Let's not argue about this right now. So the Ninth Alliance set themselves up in a classy hotel in Spain…"

"Right, and we did the same. Donna and Jimmy Dean spent a lot of time watching them, and Anna and I spent a lot of time trying to access their computers and anyway, it was a long few days being holed up in a hotel, no matter how nice the hotel is."

Don nodded in agreement but couldn't help a tiny pang of resentment. He had never stayed at a five-star hotel, while that seemed to be the norm for Charlie.

Don watched and waited while Charlie picked at his sandwich and occasionally popped pieces of it in his mouth. "Charlie?" he finally prodded after a good five minutes of silence.

"What?" Charlie said in surprise. "Sorry. I just kind of spaced out. I'm… it's really noisy in here."

Don listened for a moment to the dead quiet it the house and then looked at Charlie questioningly. "There's no one here…"

"Yeah, I meant in my head," Charlie said with a wave of his hand before putting his uneaten sandwich on the coffee table. "Sorry, where were we?"

"What do you mean, noisy in your head?" Don asked, feeling more than a little worried for his brother's mental health.

"I get… The numbers to me are like a thousand people standing in a room shouting for my attention. Normally I can silence most of them and concentrate on that one person that is relevant to what I'm working on. When I'm tired I have trouble keeping them quiet enough for me to think," Charlie shrugged. "Anyway, it doesn't matter, except that I can't sleep when it's noisy, and I can't stop the noise because I'm too tired."

"Catch 22."

"Yeah."

"And then what happens?"

Charlie smiled. "I pass out from exhaustion, or I take a bottle of pills."

"That's not funny."

"No, but you understand why I had to? I didn't intend to kill myself back then."

"I get that you didn't mean to, but you very nearly did," Don said seriously. "That's not ok."

Charlie looked away, then stood abruptly. "I need my cell phone and my laptop."

"Not right now you don't," Don said. "We're not finished the story. And we're not finished talking about that either."

"I don't want to discuss it. It's not a problem anymore."

"Maybe not for you, but I just found out about it, so it is a problem for me," Don said decisively. "And I want to be sure nothing of the sort will ever happen again no matter what. And no secret that big will ever be kept from me again either."

"It wasn't a secret," Charlie said moodily.

"Yeah, you and mom just neglected to tell anyone," Don said wryly. "So back to Spain."

"Right," Charlie said with a nod. "Anna and I were having no luck, and Jimmy Dean and Donna suspected they had been made, so we packed up and headed out."

"Just like that?"

Charlie shook his head. "No, not just like that. But that's all I'm saying about it."

"Fair enough," Don said, feeling anything but.

"So, on to Italy. Milan, specifically, because Donna likes it there and apparently there were fashion shows. Very busy, helped us blend in nicely."

"Did the Ninth Alliance attend the fashion shows too?" Don asked sullenly.

"Probably, but I didn't go. I stayed holed up at the Bulgari and didn't leave the hotel once."

"You stayed in five star hotels for eight months?" Don asked skeptically. "That's it?"

Charlie glared at him. "Look, there was a contract out on me. What did you want me to do? Jimmy Dean and Donna knew what they were doing, I trusted them to keep me from getting shot or worse. You're mad at me for something I have no control over!"

"Except you do!" Don exploded to Charlie's surprise. "You _do_ have control, Charlie. You pretend to be naïve and innocent all the time and it's really getting on my nerves. You are not as naïve as you pretend to be. You place _yourself_ in danger, and you keep things from Dad and I that we deserve to know!"

"What exactly did you deserve to know?" Charlie demanded, getting angry himself.

"That you were taking off, for one thing!" Don sputtered. "Maybe a phone call at some point while you were holed up in _luxurious hotels in Europe_ while Dad and I were worried sick. Maybe at some point while you were losing your security clearance you could have mentioned to me that it was all part of some bigger scam, and maybe, at some point, you could mention that _you work for a secret spy agency!"_ Don took a deep breath and glared at his younger brother, daring him to come up with a good reply.

Charlie looked at him and Don suddenly felt very guilty. Dammit, Charlie had such a way of _looking_ at you.

"So we were in Milan," Charlie calmly continued, "for all of two weeks, when we were spotted and had to run for it again. This time didn't go as smoothly, and we ended up losing Donna."

"Losing Donna?" Don repeated.

"Yes. She was shot. She's dead. But the rest of us made it to South Africa."

"Geez, Charlie." Now he felt _really_ guilty, but at the same time knew his feelings were perfectly justified. And he was really angry with Charlie for making him feel this way.

"Yeah. It's very strange to have someone die for you. I guess I have a hard time understanding… I don't know. What's the point, you know? Why is it better for her to be dead instead of me?" Charlie looked away for a moment before standing again. "Sorry, I need my phone. I don't like to be out of touch."

"Alright, relax, I'll get it," Don said, suddenly glad to be doing something. He didn't like where this story was going, and at the same time didn't know what else he had been expecting. He took the stairs slowly and entered his room; his old childhood room, which he had redecorated somewhat in the last few months with things from his apartment. Don sat down on the bed and lowered his head in his hands. What was he supposed to do with all this new information, and the information that was undoubtedly still to come? How was he supposed to see his little brother now? He had always seen Charlie as someone who needed to be protected, but now he knew better. And how was he supposed to get rid of this _angry_ feeling he had toward his brother all of a sudden?

Don picked up Charlie's cell phone where he had kept it on his night stand. He had carried it with him everywhere for eight months, waiting and hoping for a sign from his brother, and now that Charlie was here, Don almost wished he wasn't. Almost, but not quite, because he was so glad, so _grateful_ that his brother was alive and ok, that he wanted nothing more than to never let him out of his reach again.

CHAPTER SIX: Running


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

Running

Charlie watched Don walk up the stairs and closed his eyes. He knew Don was angry, and he knew Don felt guilty, but he didn't know what to do about it. Perhaps he shouldn't have told him any of this at all, but how was he supposed to just show up after such a long time away and not say anything at all? Hey, I'm back, get out of my house? Except he didn't want Don out of the house. He thought it was great that he had finally taken the step to move in. But after months of very close-quarters living with Jimmy Dean and Kate, and Anna and _Donna_, all he really wanted was to be alone. But he didn't want to be alone.

Charlie lay down on the couch and tried to concentrate on the numbers. Tried to hold on to one stream of thought. After a few minutes he gave up and opened his eyes in frustration. He'd never be able to sleep again.

Charlie thought back to eight months ago, to when this had all started. It had been a Monday early in May, and he had been running late for a dinner with Amita. He had been so busy, even with losing his security clearance, that he didn't at all feel like going out, but Amita had insisted, and as per usual, he caved. Why did he do that? He was starting to resent their whole relationship because it seemed like far too much work for far too little enjoyment, and he was starting to debate whether he should end things. Dad would be crushed. Amita would probably be ok. He could sense that she was beginning to feel the same about him, and he was ok with that. He had been hurrying through the house, trying to find his car keys, when the doorbell had rung.

He considered ignoring it, but at the last moment reconsidered and pulled open the door. Jimmy Dean was casually leaning against the wall and stepped inside as soon as the door was open. He was dressed casually, with a leather jacket and jeans and blond hair cut short. "Hey Charlie," he said cheerfully. "We've got to go."

"Go where?" Charlie had asked, more than a little bewildered.

"_Go_, go. As in, run," Jimmy Dean said. "Leave everything here. The Ninth Alliance has been so kind as to order you dead, and the IIC is not particularly willing to let you go without a fight."

"I can't just run," Charlie said, following Jimmy to the backdoor and outside. "What about my father and my brother?"

"Don't worry about them, we'll have people watching. Besides, the Ninth is no longer interested in trying to win you over, they'd just like you dead already." Jimmy Dean smiled cheerfully at that last bit and turned to look at Charlie. "I'm sure you can figure out the statistical probability of them succeeding, but I'd rather not hear it right now. I think we're ahead of them, but I'd just as soon leave the country ASAP." Jimmy Dean warily looked around the neighbourhood before walking across the street towards a battered old Dodge Neon. "Hop in, Professor."

Charlie looked toward the house once more before reluctantly stepping into the passenger seat, and a moment later Jimmy Dean peeled away from the curb. "I thought we'd decided everything would quiet down once my security clearance was revoked?" Charlie asked in confusion. "What happened?"

"Ah," Jimmy Dean said with a snort. "The old fake-out. We thought they were after you because of that stunt you pulled with the NSA, which, nice job once again, but not exactly helping your anonymity, especially since the NSA practically _broadcast_ your name all over the damn news. _Gits_. Turns out, they were as impressed as we were, but were even more impressed once they started connecting dots. We've got a mole somewhere, and we're going to need to weed him out." Jimmy scowled and shook his head. "Damn spies and their double operatives. Sometimes I just want to retire somewhere in Australia and start a sheep ranch."

Charlie laughed. "A sheep ranch? You?"

"Yeah, I'll have you know I grew up on a sheep ranch," Jimmy said. "My father owns a large property in Queensland."

"Really? I had no idea."

"Right, well, I'm getting damn tired of trying to figure out who everyone is. We should really all just pick a side and stick to it, y'know?"

Charlie laughed and nodded. "Yeah. I hear you."

Jimmy Dean was weaving his way through traffic and Charlie was trying not to panic. They were getting awfully close to some cars. "Are you sure my father-"

"Don't worry about it," Jimmy said seriously.

"Yeah, I'll try not to worry about the Ninth Alliance coming after my brother and my father," Charlie muttered. "I should warn them."

"Not a chance," Jimmy said. "They don't have the clearance. And to be honest, your brother has just enough training and knowledge to cause a lot of trouble. We don't want to have to take him out."

"Take him out," Charlie repeated incredulously. "Are you kidding?"

"Sorry, but you know what it's like."

"Yeah, I know what it's like. And I'm going to panic about it for a little bit, if you don't mind. I don't need you threatening my brother, thanks."

"Sorry," Jimmy said placatingly. "You know we wouldn't."

"Yeah."

"But we would have to shut him up."

"Right, and if I make a quick phone call, Don wouldn't cause a problem…" Charlie rolled his eyes. "Yeah, he totally would, even if I could call."

Jimmy smiled. "Right then, so stop worrying about them, and let's start worrying about keeping you alive."

"So a contract?"

"Ten million Euros to have you disappear," Jimmy said.

"That's it?" Charlie muttered. "Why don't I just wire them the money and we can call it even."

Jimmy shrugged. "Ah, well, we could give it a shot, I suppose. We haven't quite gone through the proper channels with this yet. Alecia at HQ doesn't even know. We wanted to keep transmissions quiet. But we've got the usual team heading to your favourite place."

"Oh?" Charlie said curiously. "Spain?"

"Yeah. I don't want to get into the details, because I left this car unattended for a few minutes. Those bastards are quick to put a bug in somewhere. But the others know where your favourite place is, so they should be arriving within the next day."

Charlie nodded and fidgeted with his hands a little. He couldn't help feeling a little useless. "Do we have a plan?"

"Nope. We'll get one though. Don't worry, Professor."

"I have classes," Charlie said, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. "And Don and Dad are going to be _furious._"

"Didn't you leave some sort of 'just-in-case' letter? You mentioned you were thinking of it when we thought you'd have to run two months ago."

"Yeah, it's still there. Don will find it. I just… don't like this."

Jimmy shrugged. "It's part of the game."

"I know that."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, with Jimmy Dean concentrating on the traffic, and Charlie concentrating on the numbers in his head, which were calculating a not-so-optimistic end to this whole mess.

Eventually, Jimmy Dean parked the little car in spot at LAX, and he and Charlie climbed out. They had chartered a private plane to Spain, so after a minimal amount of hassle, they were both comfortably seated and the plane was in the air.

CHAPTER SEVEN: Hiding


	7. Chapter 7

A note from Paschka: So, anyone still reading? Do let me know what you think, I'd especially love some constructive criticism... I'm a new writer, and wouldn't mind hearing what I need to work on and what's just great!

CHAPTER SEVEN

Hiding

Charlie and Jimmy Dean walked into the courtyard of the Palacio de Los Velada and scanned the many little tables and sitting areas for their team mates. Jimmy Dean spotted the three women first and headed through the relaxed crowd toward their two tables.

"Charlie, Jimmy Dean," one of the women, a pretty green-eyed blonde, said in greeting when they joined them at the tables. "It's nice to see you both again."

"Donna," Jimmy Dean said with a pleased grin. "I'm glad the three of you made it here ahead of us. Did you get rooms?"

Donna nodded. "Anna hacked their reservation system and secured us the suite and two double rooms. Charlie and I will take the suite, you three can fight over the doubles." Donna was an American, originally from New Orleans, but her IIC training had left little trace of an accent.

"You and Charlie always take first pick," Anna complained. "I got us the rooms, I should get first pick." Anna was originally from Belgium but now lived in New York. She was petite, with dark hair cut in a short bob.

"It's Charlie we're keeping safe," Donna said lightheartedly. "Of course he gets the best room."

"I'm not so sure," Jimmy Dean said. "The suite has that loft and the windows…"

"We have this argument every time," Charlie said wearily, running his hands through this hair. "Why don't we just flip a coin or something?"

"Charlie, are you grumpy?" Kate asked playfully, elbowing him lightly.

"Yeah, I'm grumpy," Charlie replied with a smile. "I'm tired. Jimmy Dean kidnapped me."

"I did no such thing," Jimmy Dean protested. "I saved your life."

Donna and Anna laughed at that, and Kate shook her head. "Far be it for me to point out," she said. "But we are kind of in the open here. What do you say we go see that suite?"

The others agreed and left the courtyard for the hotel suite. The women and Jimmy Dean had all packed lightly, and carried their bags up the many stairs to the room. Charlie knew better than to offer to carry bags for them, but did take one of Anna's laptop bags when she shoved it in his arms.

The suite was lovely, with a main living space and winding stairs up into a loft to a sleeping area. The room was decorated in tastefully neutral colours, and there were large arched windows that overlooked Ávila.

Charlie dropped down on one of the sofas and closed his eyes.

"So, I'm going shopping," Donna announced. "Charlie needs clothes."

"Great," Charlie muttered.

"Anna will come with me," Donna said. "We'll have a look around, act like tourists and see if there's anything to be worried about."

"Please bring me back something I can actually wear," Charlie said.

"I will bring you back something lovely," Donna promised. "I can't have my pretend-husband looking like a slob."

"Whatever," Charlie replied. "Just make sure it's something _I_ want to wear, not something _you_ want me to wear."

"No worries," Donna said cheerfully, opening her suitcase and pulling out a different set of clothes. Anna did the same, and soon the two of them looked like the average tourist. "We'll see you three later," Donna said as they left the room.

"Ah, Charlie," Kate said with a sigh, pushing his legs off the sofa and sitting down beside him. "Déjà vu, huh?"

Charlie looked at her with a frown. "If you say so, though I would like it noted that I saved your life once too."

"Oh, remember that time in Argentina?" Kate asked with a pleased smile. "We blew up a bridge. It was beautiful."

"Mmhmm," Jimmy Dean said from where he was checking the view from each window. "I seem to remember the biggest argument ever in the history of the IIC between you two. It's a surprise we didn't clue in the entire continent to what we were doing."

"But it worked," Charlie pointed out.

"That it did," Kate agreed. "Charlie and I work best when we're yelling at each other."

"Well the rest of us don't," Jimmy Dean said. "So try to keep it down."

Kate shrugged and looked over at Charlie, who had closed his eyes again and was attempting to sleep. "Do you know what we could do while we wait for Donna and Anna to come back?"

"Sleep?" Charlie suggested.

"Play chess," Kate said eagerly.

"No way," Charlie and Jimmy Dean both said at the same time.

"Aw, come on," Kate said in disappointment. "I promise I will play nice."

"You never play nice," Jimmy Dean said as he sat down across from them. "Charlie beats you every time, and you're a sore loser."

"Am not," Kate said, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"You're being one now," Charlie said with his eyes still closed. "Besides, you need Anna's computer to play chess, and she's not here to log you into it."

"You have her passwords," Kate pointed out.

"And I know better than to use them," Charlie said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to sleep for a little bit, before my head explodes. You two can think of a plan to get me out of this mess."

CHAPTER EIGHT: Consideration


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

Consideration

Charlie startled awake when Donna gently shook him. "Sorry," she said apologetically.

"S'ok. What time is it?" Charlie asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes to clear the sleepiness.

"Eight. We had dinner brought up. Are you feeling alright, you look a little flushed."

"I'm fine," Charlie said. "I'm just jetlagged or something." Charlie ran his hands through his hair and looked over at Donna. "How was your shopping?"

"I brought you clothes," Donna said, sitting down on the bed and pulling out a few shopping bags. "Don't worry, I tried to keep you in mind when I shopped."

Charlie laughed. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. I know you're worried for your family, but this is what is best," Donna said seriously. "The best way to keep them safe is to be far away."

"I know," Charlie said as he got to his feet. "It's just impossible not to worry, that's all. I'm not usually the one away… in danger, I suppose. I'm the one that's safely at home far removed from anything that's going on…" He shrugged and shook his head. "I guess I'm worried about what Don and Dad will think when they realize what I've been up to all these years."

Donna laughed. "Well, you've hardly been doing anything they shouldn't expect in the first place. You may work for an organization that no one's heard of, but you don't do much more for us than you did for Don when you were consulting for the FBI. It's just, our cases tend to be a bit more international. It's not like you're running around with a gun being a James Bond-type spy."

Charlie couldn't help but laugh at that description. "Yeah, that's about as far removed from me as it could possibly get."

"You code things for us, you do a little magic math and calculate the safest and most efficient way for things to be accomplished. You're exactly like what they think you are." Donna shrugged and smiled.

Charlie nodded and frowned seriously. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right." He fidgeted with his fingers a little. "I don't know why this is bothering me so much, that Don might find out about…about this." He motioned at Donna and the room in general. "I'm not a spy. I'm actually a bit of a coward, really. I tend to run away at the first sign of trouble."

"Like we've taught you to do," Donna said, frowning seriously when she realized that Charlie was not at all comfortable with the whole topic. "That doesn't make you a coward. Jimmy Dean and Kate and I are trained field agents. You and Anna are not. That's why you two stay where it's safe, and Jimmy Dean and Kate and I go out in the field where there could be trouble. We're _trained_ to deal with it. You're trained to help us stay safe."

Charlie looked at her uncertainly. "I guess sometimes it just seems a little bit useless."

"Well it isn't," Donna said, crossing her arms stubbornly. "So suck it up."

Charlie burst out laughing. "Oh, nice."

Donna laughed as well. "There's an upside to everything, you know. At least if they do find out you're working for an unheard-of organization, you won't have to lie the few times a year you do come off-site with us. And, since we're holed up in a hotel room together, you get to pretend we're a couple, so that's a bonus."

"Yeah, it's a bonus," Charlie said quietly. Then he brightened and smiled. "So, I'm starving."

"Let's go eat," Donna said cheerfully, standing and pulling Charlie to his feet.

The next three days were spent strategizing and just hiding out. Charlie barely left the hotel suite, choosing instead to help Anna try to hack the Ninth Alliance's computer networks to hold their accounts hostage. They were not having much luck and on the third day of their stay, Donna returned from a day out with the news that several Ninth Alliance spies had been spotted at a hotel nearby.

"I don't think they've realized we're here," Donna said with an excited smile, plopping down on the sofa beside Charlie, who was sitting cross-legged and looking over Anna's shoulder. She was sitting on the floor with three open laptops in front of her.

"We'd have been taken out already if they knew we were here," Kate said from her perch on the window ledge.

"Not unless they're just waiting to see what we're up to," Jimmy Dean said, pacing back and forth.

"Well, Charlie and I are pretty sure we can't do any damage to their network from this kind of location," Anna announced. "We need to make our way to the compound."

"We have to contact HQ for that," Donna pointed out. "Which may give up our position. You know they monitor our communications, just like we do theirs. Even if we can get a message through safely, the response may be intercepted. Then what?"

"It's a risk we'll have to take," Jimmy Dean said resolutely. "We can't stay here and risk us getting caught. Even if Charlie stays in the room all the time, there's a chance Donna or I will be seen. They all know what we look like, and we all know what they look like." He shook his head. "It's ridiculous, really. This stupid game. I say we move."

"If we take the train we can be in Milan in an hour and a half," Donna said. "If we can get a coded message to HQ, we'll be able to go from Milan to one of the compounds, access their computers, and hack their accounts."

"If HQ agrees," Charlie said hesitantly. "They may not. They might not like us using the compound and possibly revealing the location to the Ninth."

"It's a risk we have to take," Anna said. "We can't do what we're hoping to with these computers."

"Let's pack up," Jimmy Dean decided.

"I'll get us tickets," Anna said, turning off two of the computers and logging into the train reservation system. The others had everything packed within 10 minutes, and within an hour of deciding to leave, they were seated on the train heading for Milan.

The group booked rooms at the Bulgari Hotel in Milan, and were pleased to discover there was some sort of fashion week on at the moment that had the town crowded with more tourists and celebrities than usual. They decided on the same living-arrangements as before, and once Jimmy Dean and Donna had inspected the hotel and its surrounding streets and declared it free of Ninth Alliance Spies, they each went to bed.

"You know I love Milan, right?" Donna dreamily asked Charlie from where she was sprawled across their bed.

"You've told me a few _hundred_ times," Charlie replied good-naturedly.

"And you know its fashion week."

"So I've heard."

"In fact, we probably kicked some pretty big celebrities out of their hotel rooms when Anna hacked their computer."

"Yeah."

"So in the morning, we should go check it out."

"We've been over this."

"I know," Donna said with a disappointed sigh.

"You can check out the fashion shows. Really, I don't mind. But I'm not leaving the hotel. We all decided that was for the best."

Donna sighed and scooted over so Charlie could get into bed. "You would love the fashion shows," she said, her voice muffled by a pillow.

"I would _hate_ the fashion shows," Charlie replied. "I don't understand fashion."

Donna laughed. "I've noticed."

"Hey," Charlie protested indignantly. "I don't dress badly!"

"No, you dress like a college student."

"Well, I was one, not all that long ago."

"And now you're a spy, and a professor, and my pretend-husband, so I'd like you dressed a little more sexily."

Charlie snorted in disgust. "I dress fine," he muttered.

"You do now. Those jeans I bought you are very cute."

"Shut up," Charlie said with a laugh.

They were quiet for a few minutes before Donna turned to look at him. "What's wrong?"

"I'm still worried," Charlie said with a shrug. "I know we've talked about it, and I don't know why it's a surprise to any of you. I can't just put my worry for my family out of my head. My Dad will be freaking out right about now, and my brother will start looking for me, and he won't stop until he knows where I am. And I know he won't find anything, except what I left on purpose. He's going to hate me after this is done."

"No, he won't."

"Yes, he will. Things between him and me were never that great, not until I started consulting for him and helping him out on cases. We actually talk now, you know? We used to never talk. My mom was the one who would tell us about what the other's up to. I'm pretty sure he resented me a lot while we were growing up, and I can't really blame him for that."

"But that goes both ways," Donna said. "You can't blame him for the feelings he had as a _child_ when you were growing up, but then he shouldn't blame you for the gift you have. You didn't ask for it."

"Yeah, but he's the one who had to deal with being left out."

"So did you."

Charlie sighed. "Yeah, that's true. I guess… he doesn't understand what _my_ experience was, because it's so very opposite of what his was, y'know? And it's still the same now. We're so very different. But I do know he's going to be mighty pissed off when he finds out we created that whole situation with me losing my security clearance. I lied to him."

"Well boohoo. We all lie sometimes Charlie, especially to protect people we love. My parents think I work in a bank! They haven't a clue what I really do. You've told your brother what you can. And it's not that far from the truth. He knows you consult for agencies besides the FBI, he just doesn't know what kind of consulting."

"I guess I just have a hard time with this because Don is FBI," Charlie said. "He would understand if I told him everything. But I'm lying, and that he won't get."

"I think you're underestimating him. I think he will understand, once he knows some of the details. And you could tell him some of this, Charlie. Just leave out the big details."

"It's so much easier to lie to my Dad," Charlie complained.

"We have a lifetime of experience keeping things from our parents. But I think we sometimes don't realize that they know exactly when we're not telling the truth, they just choose not to pursue it."

"I just wish it wasn't all so difficult," Charlie said, turning over onto his stomach. "But then again, if it was all easy, I guess there would be no need for us."

"That's right," Donna said cheerfully. She reached over and brushed his hair away from his eyes. "You need a haircut."

"No I don't."

"Yes. I think I'll cut your hair tomorrow. The curls are far too recognizable."

"I don't want it too short," Charlie said.

"I won't cut it too short," Donna promised. "Just a little bit off."

CHAPTER NINE: Disaster


	9. Chapter 9

A note from Paschka - Thanks for all the wonderful reviews and suggestions. I will try to incorporate your suggestions into my writing. I do agree that my Charlie and Don don't quite sound like the characters on tv, but am hoping I will be able to improve on that eventually. Also, for those that wanted to know, yes, these last few chapters have gone back in time to what actually happened to Charlie vs. what he's telling Don. No worries, Don will return shortly!

CHAPTER NINE

Disaster

They should have known it wouldn't be that easy. Once the Ninth Alliance wanted Charlie dead, they put all their resources into making sure it happened, and they knew how to find him.

If Charlie and Anna were among the best code-breakers and hackers in the world, then the Ninth Alliance had their match in their own employ, and he used his considerable skill to hack into the train surveillance video, where he kept careful watch over the thousands of travelers until he found a match. And he knew exactly where they were going: Milan.

Once the Ninth Alliance had a starting point, they swarmed the area, and it took only a day to find the hotel. And then they waited for Charlie to come out.

Meanwhile, inside the Bulgari hotel, Charlie and Anna had sent a coded transmission to IIC HQ, and were anxiously waiting for a reply. Jimmy Dean and Kate had left hours ago to secure a car and scout out potential private planes to borrow at the airport.

"I don't like this at all," Donna said nervously from where she stood just inside the window, her gun loosely in her hand. "I have a very bad feeling."

Charlie looked up at her from where he and Anna were huddled over her laptops. "You're giving me a bad feeling with that thing," he said, motioning toward the gun.

"It's too quiet. They know where we are," Donna said, flipping open her cellphone and speed dialing Jimmy Dean.

"Not necessarily," Charlie said. "Maybe they never spotted us in Ávila."

"We shouldn't have taken the train," Donna said, shaking her head. "There were surveillance videos."

"There were surveillance videos at the hotel," Anna said. "And in the street, and at traffic lights. We can't escape those. If they have a hacker monitoring video, then we will have been found regardless of taking the train. It's just a matter of when."

"I think they're here," Donna said. "I think they're waiting quietly for us to come out so they don't make a scene. Come on Jimmy Dean, answer."

"So we won't come out," Anna suggested as she typed something into her laptop. "Got it!" she exclaimed excitedly. "They've come back with a response. What's it say, Charlie?"

Charlie scanned the coded message and instantly decoded it in his head. "South Africa Compound. We've been authorized to take it over immediately until further notice. That's great news."

"We'll have to find a way to get there without being tailed," Donna said.

"Kate's getting us a plane," Anna reminded her, sounding irritated with Donna's nervousness. She closed the laptop and got to her feet. "I'm starving. I'm going to go down and get us something to eat. You two want something?"

Once she had written down what Charlie and Donna wanted from the downstairs restaurant, Anna left.

"Would you get away from the window," Charlie complained after a few minutes. "You're making me nervous."

"Can't help it," Donna said. "I'm trying to spot them."

"Won't they see you?"

"I'm far enough away from the window," Donna said. "Don't distract me." Her cell rang and she answered it. "Jimmy Dean is coming up," she said, snapping the phone shut. A moment later he came in.

"We've got trouble," Jimmy Dean said urgently as he walked around the room and started gathering up their belongings. "We need to pack up and head out. The city is _brimming_ with Ninth spies. They must know we're here, probably know we're at this hotel. Dammit."

"I knew it," Donna said as she hurried over to zip closed a small suitcase. "Have you got us a car?"

"Yeah, it's in the underground garage with Kate."

The three of them hurried through the room to pack up the few items that hadn't been repacked, and were ready to go just as Anna returned. She dumped the tray with their food on the table and swung her laptop cases over her shoulder. With Jimmy Dean in the lead, carrying a gun, they hurried through the hallways and took the emergency stairs down to the parking garage. Kate was behind the wheel of their car, and had maneuvered it as close to the stairwell door as she could. She scooted over into the passenger seat and Jimmy Dean took the wheel. The other three piled into the back seat.

"They should have been in the garage," Donna said. "Why wouldn't they be in the garage?"

"They're probably outside," Jimmy Dean muttered, throwing the car in gear and heading toward the exit. "Charlie, Anna, get down as far as you can get. And you two keep a careful eye out." Anna and Charlie did as they were told, and Kate and Donna, who both had guns in their hands, kept a wary eye on their surroundings. They sped out of the garage and into the sunny street.

And then someone started shooting.

The first shot shattered the back windshield almost as soon as they left the parking garage, and everyone ducked down to avoid the shattering glass and bullets. Charlie, who couldn't see anything from where he and Anna were huddled with their heads down, could only cover his head with his arms and try to stay somewhat upright as the car careened down the cobble-stoned street. The shattered glass cut his hands.

"Hold on!" Jimmy Dean shouted, scooting down in his seat a bit to protect his head and flooring the gas. The car leaped down the street, veering around traffic and nearly taking out a few pedestrians and a flower display.

"Dammit," Jimmy Dean said, gritting his teeth and swerving to avoid cars as carefully aimed bullets continued to fly at them, riddling the trunk and side of the car. "Where are they? I don't see them."

Donna risked a peek to look out and spot the shooters. "Rooftop," she said as she leveled a shot at a glittering spot on the Bulgari Hotel roof. "We need away from-"

"Got it, got it," Jimmy said as he spun the car into a narrow sidestreet away from the hotel.

Charlie was trying to stay upright in the back of the car, and was suddenly all too aware that he was bleeding, and bleeding a lot. He swore quietly under his breath as the car lurched to the side and scraped the side of a building.

"Charlie?" Anna asked with concern. "Are you bleeding?"

"I'm… yeah, I'm bleeding, dammit," Charlie said.

"Where?" Donna demanded, lowering her gun to look at him. A moment later the side window exploded and Charlie's world went black.

CHAPTER TEN: Heartbreak


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

Heartbreak

For Charlie, the next few days consisted of brief glimpses through a haze of pain and confusion. When he first somewhat regained consciousness they were still in the car, speeding toward the airport while Anna was talking rapidly with Kate and Jimmy Dean was swearing up a storm. "I can't stop the bleeding," Anna was saying. "I need you to come into the back and help me."

* * *

"I'm going to ram the gate, I don't give a damn about security guards in their way. I need the car right at the damn stairs. We can't carry them both and dodge bullets."

* * *

"Charlie? Charlie, open your eyes."

* * *

"He's losing way too much blood, are you or Kate his bloodtype?" It was Anna's voice again, and Charlie concentrated on it and tried to fight his way to conciousness. There was something heavy on his chest, making it hard to breathe.

"Kate's flying the plane," Jimmy Dean said. He sounded furious. "I don't… I think we're the same type. Dammit, Donna kept track of that stuff."

"Charlie? Look at me, open your eyes," Anna turned his head, but Charlie was having trouble focusing enough to open his eyes. "I know you're in pain, but you need to stay still," Anna continued.

* * *

The next time he woke, he was actually able to open his eyes, and found himself lying in a bedroom. The covers were pulled up to his shoulders, but he was cold, and he was having trouble focusing.

"Charlie," Anna said as she walked into his line of vision. "You're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Cold," he managed to mumble. He felt like he was being held down by something heavy. "What happened?"

"You were shot," Anna said with a cheerful smile that seemed like she was overcompensating. "Twice. But I think you'll be ok now. It was touch and go for a little bit."

"Head hurts," Charlie said. "I don't remember…"

"That's ok. Go back to sleep."

* * *

When he woke again, everything was clearer, and Charlie was able to focus enough to try and figure out what was going on. The room he was in was fairly large, and decorated with rich wood furniture and fabrics in yellows. The bed itself was a four-poster canopied bed, and netting was partially drawn around the bed to protect against mosquitoes. Charlie figured he was in the compound in South Africa.

The IIC South Africa Compound was located near Saldanha, and only an hour or so from the South Atlantic coast. The compound itself was more of an estate, with an elaborate main house, and several outbuildings that contained everything the IIC might need to conduct small-scale warfare from the comfort of home. There was a bunker onsite, and an armoury that contained every weapon one could think of, and a massive computer system that was custom-built by the best in the business.

Charlie pulled the blankets aside and tried to figure out what exactly had happened to him. He was shirtless, and a large bandage was wrapped around his midsection. From the pain, he guessed that he had been shot somewhere close to his ribs, because they hurt a whole lot. His head had also been wrapped with a bandage, and from the splitting headache, he guessed that he was perhaps hit by a lot of flying glass. Someone had cut his hair.

The door opened and Charlie tried to focus on Jimmy Dean, who was walking in. "Hey, you're awake," Jimmy Dean said cheerfully. "It's about bloody time."

"What happened?" Charlie asked groggily.

"You were shot," Jimmy Dean said, pouring a glass of water for Charlie.

"I guessed that much," Charlie said with a frown, which only made his head hurt worse. "Who cut my hair?"

Jimmy Dean laughed. "Of course you're only worried about your damn hair," he said with a snort. "Anna had to cut it so she could stitch up the gash in your head. From the bullet."

"I was shot in the _head_?" Charlie exclaimed, struggling to sit up a little so he could drink some water. He was suddenly aware that he was really hungry and really thirsty.

"It was only a graze," Jimmy said with a casual shrug. "We were more worried about the bullet that took out your ribs. We couldn't get the bleeding stopped. Kate gave you blood."

"Kate's a universal donor," Charlie said with a nod. "Donna and I are the same blood type."

Jimmy Dean nodded and handed Charlie the glass of water, but Charlie was having trouble moving his arm. Any movement at all was shear torture.

"This is ridiculous," Charlie muttered, blinking away the dark edges around his eyes and trying not to pass out.

"Here," Jimmy Dean said, holding the glass for him so he could take a sip. "Don't overexert yourself. It's been three days since you were shot, and you lost a _massive_ amount of blood. You'll be a little weak in the knees for a few days."

Charlie nodded and already felt himself drift off. "So we're in South Africa?"

"Yeah. Anna is off doing some damage in the computer bunker, and Kate's fortifying the place just in case we were spotted. It was a narrow escape."

"And Donna?" Charlie asked.

Jimmy Dean fidgeted a little with the glass of water, swirling the liquid around in the glass. "She's gone, Charlie. I'm sorry."

Charlie looked at him and tried to process the information, but found he was far too groggy and in too much pain. "I don't understand."

"She was hit at the same time as you, Charlie, probably even the same bullet. But it hit her in the neck and there was nothing we could do. She bled out in minutes." Jimmy Dean set the glass down on the side table and looked at him. "I need to go check on the others. Get some sleep."

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Options


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Options

The next time Charlie woke it was dark, he could barely see. A candle was burning somewhere off to his left, and it was throwing a slight shadow across the room. Someone's hand was in his, and he turned his throbbing head to see Anna sleeping soundly beside him. He was horribly uncomfortable though, and couldn't help shifting around a little to try and ease the pressure on his chest. It still felt like someone was standing on him, and it hurt to breathe.

"Charlie?" Anna said sleepily.

"Hey," he said. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"I didn't mean to fall asleep," she said. "I just wanted to keep you company."

"I'm not very good company," Charlie said, trying to turn a little onto his side but finding that even more painful than being on his back.

"Can I get you anything? A shot of morphine or something?"

Charlie couldn't help a slight laugh.

"You know we practically have a hospital down in the bunker," Anna said. "So we've got all sorts of stuff available. I know you hate being drugged, though, so I thought since you were more awake, I would wait until I gave you anything more."

"I'll leave it for a bit," Charlie said, giving up on trying to find a painless position and lying still. "I'm really tired."

"Yeah," Anna said with a nod. "And I bet you hurt a little, huh? You have two broken ribs."

"Oh?"

"And you're going to have a headache for a few days. It's a pretty impressive gash, and it's bruising nicely."

"Fantastic," he mumbled, starting to fall asleep again.

"You'll be ok though," Anna said softly.

"Is Donna here, or did we leave her?" Charlie asked.

"We got her onto the plane," Anna said. "She's down in the bunker. We're trying to decide whether to bury her here or create some sort of accident back in the States so that her parents will at least get her body."

"Yeah, that might be the best," Charlie said, reaching over to brush away a tear that was slipping down Anna's cheek. The movement pulled at his ribs and he lowered his arm.

"So tomorrow, if you feel up to it, you can come down to the computer lab with me?" Kate suggested. "We can create some magical mayhem."

Charlie smiled. "Yeah, that'll be fun. I don't know if I'll…"

"If you feel up to it, of course," Anna said quickly. "Which you probably won't. Sorry, I wasn't thinking, you must be tired."

"I am, but I feel like I've been sleeping for weeks."

"You realize we've only been on the run for a week and a half?" Anna said quietly. "And we've got no plan to get out of this mess."

"We do have a plan," Charlie said. "We hack their systems and hold their accounts hostage."

"I'm not so sure we can."

"Have you tried?"

"Not yet, I was waiting for you to help me," Anna said.

"Ok, well, tomorrow we'll sit down together, as a group, and we'll plan something. We have all the resources we need here, and if needed, we don't all need to stay here. I'm the one with the price on my head, not you guys."

"You're part of our team," Anna said with an indignant tone creeping into her voice. "There's a price on our _team_. You wouldn't abandon us in this kind of situation. Remember Pakistan? Remember you saved _my_ life. So I'd like to help save yours this time. You're the planner, Charlie. You're the one that calculates every last detail of all our missions. You're the one who can break codes and encrypt our messages to keep us safe."

"Ok, ok," Charlie said with a small laugh. "Enough of the pep-talk."

"I mean it."

"Ok. I'm just saying, we have the option of Kate and Jimmy Dean leaving South Africa if we need someone to get something we can bargain with. We have a few more options."

"Yeah, I guess that's true," Anna said. "It's just been a disaster. We weren't careful enough."

"Maybe not. Maybe we were. We're pretty evenly matched, us and the Ninth Alliance. They know what they're doing, and so do we."

"But they're coming after us, they've never come after us," Anna said. "We've always played this more as a game, with some grudging respect for their skills, and assuming they have the same for ours. They offer us jobs often enough."

"It isn't a game," Charlie said. "I know we compartmentalize it so we don't burn out, but this is not a game. We pretend it doesn't matter when we blow something up, or when we shoot at them, but it's the same as if they're shooting at us, or blowing up our compounds and offices. People die."

"Donna wasn't just people."

"I know that," Charlie said. "I'm just saying. It's not a game."

* * *

"Ok, that was really not a good idea," Charlie said as he lowered himself into a chair in front of a bank of computers.

"You insisted," Jimmy Dean pointed out. He had helped Charlie walk down to the computer lab and had pointed out to Charlie and a very excited Anna that it was far too soon for Charlie to be on his feet.

"Yeah, well, I'd like to go home at some point," Charlie said.

"We can handle things, you know," Kate said.

"I know. But I need something to do or my head is going to explode anyway," Charlie said, leaning his head back against the chair and closing his eyes. "So, we need to create a very complex bank account. It needs to be untraceable, and it needs to be in a country where it is vulnerable to law enforcement agencies. That'll give them extra incentive to cooperate."

Anna nodded. "Federal Reserve Bank in the US?"

"Sounds good to me."

"I'm going to check the perimeter," Kate said as she left the room.

"I'm going to have to send this signal through about every single satellite and tower in the world," Anna said with a determined frown. "I'm going to make it so hard to trace..."

"That's the goal," Charlie said wearily. "And it really can't be traced back here."

"Yeah, let's not have to worry about that," Jimmy Dean said, choosing a spot by the door to sit.

Soon Charlie and Anna had fallen into a comfortable rhythm of hacking signals and bank security systems, and Charlie was writing out a complex coding algorithm on a notepad.

Hours later, a hidden account had been set up in the Federal Reserve Bank, and Anna and Charlie were taking a break before attempting to hack Ninth Alliance funds.

"You realize we'll still not be completely safe even if this is successful," Kate said as she passed around platefuls of sandwiches. "Just because they _say_ they'll let Charlie off doesn't mean they will. They can be sneaky."

"So can we," Jimmy Dean replied. "We'll set up a failsafe of some sort, right guys?"

"Absolutely," Anna said cheerfully. "Charlie's working on a cute little program that will in essence hold their money hostage permanently. They'll have access to it, but if something happens to Charlie, their accounts go up in smoke. It's pretty awesome."

"If it works," Charlie muttered. He was still writing in his notepad, and had nearly finished all the pages.

"Charlie's grumpy now," Anna announced.

"Charlie's in pain now," Charlie replied testily.

"Why don't you just take a shot of something," Jimmy Dean said with a roll of his eyes. "You're way too stubborn about this no-drugs thing you've got going."

"Drugs cause big problems for my head," Charlie said, sounding bored with the explanation. "They make the numbers ten times louder and a hundred times less manageable. Trust me on this. You don't want me on drugs, or drunk for that matter. And I don't want it either. I'd rather be in pain."

"I'm just saying," Jimmy Dean said with a shrug. "You should take it easy."

"I am taking it easy. I'm sitting down, aren't I?"

Kate couldn't help but laugh at Charlie's irritated tone, and Charlie looked at her and finally smiled. "Yeah, ok, I'm really not in a good mood right now," he admitted. "I'm starting to think this is going to take a few months longer that I originally thought. And I don't think they're going to take too kindly to this whole plan we've got hatched, and that's just worrying me more. And I'm just really tired."

"Go get some sleep," Anna said. "We've got the groundwork laid out, the next step can wait a few hours."

"I want to finish this first," Charlie said, tapping the notepad with his pen. "But I don't know if I'll be able to."

"Well, let me solve that dilemma for you," Jimmy Dean said, grabbing the notepad out of Charlie's hands. "Go sleep before you pass out."

"Alright, alright," Charlie said defensively, struggling to his feet. "I'm going."

"I'll come with you," Kate said. "I want to make sure you actually make it to your room and don't pass out somewhere along the way."

"Thanks for that vote of confidence," Charlie muttered, accepting her help as she swung his arm over her shoulder. "Ouch."

"Sorry," she said apologetically.

* * *

Hours later Charlie was startled awake when Anna sat down on the bed. "Sorry," she said with a quick laugh.

"That's ok. Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all. I was just going to change that bandage."

Charlie made a face at that and Anna laughed again. "Can we do it later?" he asked.

"Like after the gangrene sets in?" Anna suggested. "Come on, it won't take long."

Charlie sat up and allowed Anna to help him with his shirt, and then tried to stay still and quiet as she unwrapped the bandages. It hurt, a lot.

"Sorry," she said, using the medical supplies from the bunker to clean the wound and reapply clean dressings.

"Did you take the bullet out?" Charlie asked.

"Uh, no," Anna said. "It went right through you. I just had to try and stop the bleeding. Maybe at some point you should get yourself checked out a hospital or something, just in case. I'm not a doctor."

"Ok," Charlie said with a nod. "That's ok. It seems to be doing ok though, right?"

"Yeah, it looks pretty good. I don't think you're bleeding internally, cause lets face it, you'd be dead by now."

Charlie laughed quietly. "Yeah, I guess that's true." Anna helped him put his shirt back on. "What time is it?" he asked.

"Ten. I think we can call it a day."

"I slept all day?" Charlie asked in dismay. "Why didn't anyone wake me?"

"Because you need the sleep," Anna told him. "Really, Charlie. Take it easy already."

"I'm trying to."

"There's nothing wrong with giving it a week before we continue. You'll feel a bit better every single day, I promise."

"Promise?" Charlie said with a sheepish smile. "It's my head that hurts the most," he said. "And because I'm in pain, I'm having trouble with the numbers."

"Do you want me to get you a notepad?" Anna asked. "That usually helps, doesn't it? If you can write for a little while?"

"It might," he agreed. "But I'm really sore, so my writing is not very fast, and typing is just not going to work." He smiled slightly. "Maybe I'll just get something to eat and go back to sleep. Or try anyway."

Anna nodded and got to her feet, offering Charlie a hand to help him up. "Remind me never to get shot again," Charlie complained as they slowly left the room and headed for the sitting room, where the group had been waiting during down time.

Kate and Jimmy Dean were chatting about the security of the compound when Charlie and Anna came in.

"Charlie! Excellent," Kate said gleefully. "We've been bored out of our minds. But you know what I found?"

"Please, do tell," Charlie muttered, slowly sinking into the nearest chair.

"A chess set," Kate said excitedly. "Jimmy Dean is refusing to play, but I know you must be dying for something to do."

"Dying sounds about right," Charlie said. "I'm starting to think morphine sounds like a great plan."

"I can get some for you," Anna said immediately, her face showing her concern.

"No, not yet," Charlie said determinedly. "I'll play chess, not that that's going to provide too much of a distraction."

"Oh, you wound me," Kate said dramatically with a hand over her heart. She dragged a side table over to Charlie's chair and set up a chess set. Charlie was sitting back with his eyes closed and was concentrating on breathing. It seemed his wounds were hurting _more_ everyday instead of less, and he was getting pretty frustrated with having no strength.

"Alright," Kate said excitedly, rubbing her hands together in anticipation.

"You can move first," Charlie said without opening his eyes.

Kate spent a few minutes thinking it over before moving one of her pawns.

Charlie opened his eyes and looked at the board for a few minutes before asking Anna, who was perched on the arm of his chair, to move a piece for him.

Jimmy Dean meanwhile, was monitoring the security monitors at a bank of tv screens. "I wish I could change the channel," he muttered. "Watch some football."

"You just make sure we're not suddenly surrounded by tanks or something," Kate said, staring at the chess pieces with narrowed eyes. After careful consideration, she made a move, then reconsidered when Charlie sighed. "Not good?" she asked uncertainly.

"Not good," Charlie agreed.

"You're not supposed to help her," Anna scolded him.

"Do we want the game to last longer than ten minutes?" Charlie complained.

Kate was tapping her fingers on her knee before attempting another move. "Better?" she asked.

"Much," Charlie agreed.

"Do you two think you'll be able to move their accounts tomorrow?" Jimmy Dean asked, fiddling with the knobs on the TV screens in a desperate attempt to change the channel.

"Hopefully," Anna said, playing with Charlie's hair and watching Kate trying to save her queen. "It will all depend on their own hackers, really. We know they're good, so presumably they'll have a lot of firewalls and things in the way, but Charlie and I are better, right Charlie?"

"Absolutely," Charlie agreed. He was still leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, and he sounded sleepy. "You're putting me to sleep, you know," he complained good-naturedly, looking up at Anna.

"Sorry," she said, dropping her hands to her lap.

"Well, don't stop," he said with a small grin, closing his eyes. "It's helping my headache a bit."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Well make up your mind," she said.

"I did," Charlie said, leaning forward and moving his own queen. "Check mate," he said with an apologetic smile.

Kate looked at the board for a few moments before throwing her arms up in dismay. "That only took ten minutes," she complained.

"Sorry," Charlie said. "So can I ask how exactly we got here? My memory's a bit hazy."

"Kate did a pretty incredible bit of flying," Jimmy Dean said. "Considering we stole a private plane and had a fighter jet after us to make sure we weren't terrorists."

"Really?" Charlie said curiously.

"It wasn't that impressive," Kate said modestly. "By the time they even scrambled some jets we were over the Mediterranean. Jimmy Dean's the one that rammed the security gates and threw some rich guy off his plane. That was funny, or would have been if things hadn't been such a disaster at that point. Donna was already dead and you were fading pretty fast."

Charlie nodded and then shook his head. "I don't remember any of it. Just getting in the car and then… I think there were a couple of times when I started to regain consciousness. I remember Anna's voice a few times."

"Really?" Anna said, sounding pleased with herself. "I suppose it's good to know my voice can bring a man back from the brink, so to speak."

Jimmy Dean and Kate couldn't help laughing, and Charlie did his best not to, which probably hurt his ribs more than if he had gone ahead and laughed.

"Dammit," he muttered. "Don't do that to me."

"Sorry. Anyway, if you don't remember I'm sure we can find some footage of it on the web. It was all over the news. Do you want some morphine now?"

"You're way too excited about getting me drugged up," Charlie said with a wary frown at her.

"I just want you to be ok," Anna said. "That's all I want."

"I'm going back to sleep, I think," Charlie said, sitting up straight. "I'm going to fall asleep here anyway."

"Don't you want something to eat?" Anna asked. "That's why you came down here in the first place."

"I'm not hungry," Charlie said dismissively. "Really, I'm not. I ate earlier."

"Ok," Anna said with a nod, watching him get to his feet. "I'm checking on you later."

"That's fine," Charlie said with a nod as he left the room.

CHAPTER TWELVE: Admissions


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

Admissions

When Charlie woke again it was to a ray of sunshine that had somehow managed to shine directly into his eyes. With a pained sigh he turned his head to see Anna fast asleep beside him. He wasn't sure what to make of that, and was a little disturbed that she had apparently come in and crept into bed without him noticing.

Fully awake now, Charlie debated getting up and going for a bit of a walk, but decided against it when he saw a new notepad and pen lying on the nightstand. He struggled to a sitting position, and started to write.

A few hours later, Anna also woke up. "You're awake," she said sleepily.

"Yeah," Charlie said. "Thanks for this," he said with a vague motion toward the notepad.

"Oh, no problem. I figured you might need to write," she said, turning onto her stomach and propping herself onto her elbows to watch him. "You don't mind that I stayed here, do you?"

"No, of course not," Charlie said, turning his attention back to his equations but suddenly being far too distracted to work on them.

"So, we've been working together a long time now, right?" Anna said tentatively.

"Yeah. Six years now? I think."

"Something like that," she agreed with a nod. "And I think we work really well together."

"Of course," Charlie said with an uncertain look at her.

"Right," Anna said, nervously picking at her pillow and refusing to meet his eyes. "So I'm going to go ahead and completely ruin our friendship now."

"What?" Charlie said with a laugh. "What do you mean?"

"When you were shot, Charlie, I… I completely lost it. You have no idea."

"From the brief moments I was conscious you seemed pretty calm," Charlie disagreed. He had no idea where this conversation was going.

"On the outside, maybe. But I was freaking out. Literally beside myself." She frowned seriously and risked a peek at him. "I thought you were going to die, and I didn't know if I could live with that."

Charlie looked at her with uncertainty. "I really don't…"

"I'm in love with you, Charlie," Anna said before burying her head under her pillow in embarrassment. "Oh my god, I just _said_ it," she exclaimed, her voice muffled.

Charlie just looked at her in amazement. "You're in love with me?" he repeated.

"Completely, head over heals," came Anna's muffled reply. "And it's totally ok that you don't feel that way about me. I just wanted to get it out there, you know, so in case…" She looked up at him for moment before covering her face with the pillow again.

Charlie was still looking at her with a slightly wide-eyed expression.

"Oh, I'm so mortified now," Anna muttered.

"I don't even… I don't know what to say," Charlie said. "Except, please don't be embarrassed. You don't have to be embarrassed. I'm…" He reached over and pulled the pillow away from her face. "I don't know what to do about that," he said softly.

"You don't have to do anything," Anna said. "But don't make fun of me. And don't say anything to Kate and Jimmy Dean. They'll never let me live it down."

"It can't be that bad to be in love with me," Charlie said, looking down at his hands for a moment before looking over at her. "Can it?"

"Oh, no," she said with a stricken expression. "That isn't what I meant."

"Ok," he said, before impulsively leaning forward and kissing her gently. "That really hurt," he said, smiling sheepishly. "I'm… I don't know if I love you, but I certainly _like_ you a whole lot. So, if that's something you would like to… I don't know," he shrugged helplessly. "I don't know what I'm saying."

Anna smiled. "I'll take it," she said.

"Good," Charlie said. "I'm going to take a shower, and then I'm going to find some breakfast. I'm starving."

CHAPTER TWELVE: Uncertainty


	13. Chapter 13

A note from Paschka - thanks for not throwing tomatoes at me for the last chapter : ). Anyway, since the last chapter was so short, here's the next one... we're back to the future with Don! (We'll go back to Anna etc. later)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Uncertainty

Don sat on the bed and stared at the carpet, trying to absorb everything that Charlie had told him when the phone rang abruptly. He jumped to his feet, crossed the hallway to his own room and picked up the phone. "Eppes," he answered.

"Donnie? How is Charlie?" Alan questioned, sounding hurried.

"He's fine, Dad," Don said. "He's tired, sleeping."

"Sleeping again?" Alan asked with a frustrated sigh.

"Yeah, Dad. He's coming from overseas or something, he's jetlagged."

"Overseas or something? You haven't even talked yet?"

"Dad," Don protested. "We've done nothing but talk. He came from Europe, ok? Where are you?"

"I'm in an airport somewhere, I don't honestly even know at the moment," Alan said. "I just put my faith into the airline industry and allowed them to put me on the nearest flight home, which as it turns out had a connection here. Where ever here is. It's not important. I will be at the airport in three hours."

"I'll have David and Colby pick you up," Don said with a determined nod.

"I can take a cab…"

"Dad, David and Colby are picking you up. It'll be faster."

"Alright, that's fine. I have to go. You're sure he's fine?"

"Yes, Dad, he's fine."

"I'll see you in a bit. Don't let him out of your sight."

"I won't, Dad. See you in a bit." Don disconnected the call and walked back into Charlie's room, where he had left Charlie's cell. With a determined frown, he went back downstairs, where Charlie was still sprawled on the sofa with an arm draped over his eyes and looking very much asleep.

"Here's your phone," Don said, willing his voice to sound neutral and not at all angry or terrified, like he felt.

"Thanks," Charlie mumbled, dropping his arm and sitting up. "Where were we?"

"You left Milan, and Donna was killed."

"Right," Charlie said. "So we ended up flying to South Africa. There's not too much to tell you after that. I basically stayed there the entire eight months."

"That's it?"

"There's a few things in there that happened that I can't tell you about," Charlie admitted.

"You've told me everything else, why not this?"

"Because you'd have to arrest me," Charlie said. "And I'd prefer not to spend the rest of my life in prison, thank you."

"You did something illegal?" Don asked.

Charlie shrugged. "That depends on who you ask."

"If you asked me, would I say it's illegal?" Don asked.

"Uh, yes, you'd say it was _really_ illegal," Charlie said, sounding a bit apologetic. "This is one of those better-if-you-don't-know situations."

"Well I _do_ want to know," Don said. "I won't arrest you."

"I'm still not going to tell you, Don. I don't want you to get in trouble by default."

"I'm not going to tell anyone else about it!" Don exclaimed. "Just tell me what you did."

"No," Charlie said, shaking his head. "It was nothing…dangerous or deadly, or anything. I didn't kill anyone. Just, please drop it?"

Don sighed in frustration. "That's going to kill me, you know that, right? The curiosity."

"Sorry," Charlie said sincerely.

"So that's it? You hung out in South Africa for a few months and now you're back?"

"Pretty much."

"You know that's pretty disappointing, right?"

"Well sorry my explanation wasn't more daring and exciting," Charlie said irritably. "Trust me when I say I'd rather be holed up in a safe compound in Africa than getting shot at or fearing for my life elsewhere. I'm sorry that disappoints you."

"Don't get all defensive," Don said smoothly. "That isn't what I meant. I just wasn't expecting this. I don't know what I was expecting, but this wasn't it."

Charlie shrugged. "Whatever."

"So what was the set-back?"

"That would be the illegal thing I'm not telling you about."

"Oh. So, when Dad gets here…"

"We're not telling him anything," Charlie said seriously. "And you know I'm the worst liar in the world…"

"You've been pretty good so far," Don said dryly. "Don't think I don't realize you're not telling me the whole truth."

"Well then, doesn't that prove my point?" Charlie asked.

Don rolled his eyes. "It's a little too late to tell him you went on vacation and forgot to tell him, Charlie. He knows something was up and that it was not something good. You've got to look at this from our perspective."

"I'm not trying to be difficult!" Charlie exclaimed, lying back down on the sofa.

"Well you are!" Don shot back. "Dad is going to be really upset if you try and gloss this over, Charlie. A lot of people here were terrified for you."

"So you keep telling me," Charlie muttered. "I don't need you to make me feel guilty."

"Yeah, same here, thanks."

They were both silent for a few moments. "So, Marjolie," Don said, ignoring Charlie's groan. "What's the story?"

"I told you the story."

"Vaguely."

"She and I are very good friends. Nothing more. Not anymore, anyway."

"Very good friends don't buy each other expensive horses and have them shipped overseas," Don pointed out.

"Yeah, well, I did that just after we'd met," Charlie said. "And it's a few years later now. We were a little infatuated with each other, I guess. Anyway, it doesn't matter now."

"Yeah, except you made me search for her," Don said. "And she seemed important enough that you wanted to make sure she was safe."

Charlie sighed and looked confused for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, I guess… before this happened, I was still trying to figure out a way for her and me to work everything out. But I've kind of figured out now that that's just not going to happen. Too much time has passed, you know?"

"Dad'll be crushed," Don said with a grin. "I think this has been the one thing that has helped him through all this, knowing that there was a girl out there that you were really serious about that you might just want to marry and have children with."

Charlie snorted at that. "Dad and his obsession with grandchildren."

"Yeah," Don agreed. He couldn't help sounding a little wistful at that, and Charlie lifted his head slightly to look at him questioningly.

"What was that?" he demanded.

"Nothing," Don said a little too quickly.

"Tell me." Charlie was sitting up now, looking at him in that way that made everyone cave. Don sometimes kidded himself that he was the interrogator, the big strong FBI agent. But Charlie had the look. The innocent bambi-look that made people actually _want_ to tell him their secrets.

"It really is nothing. Lauren and I are getting pretty serious."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. That's all." Charlie looked at him and Don rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Chuck. It's just, you know, it's pretty serious, and now I'm even considering, you know, kids or something. You know, with her."

Charlie just looked at him, his eyebrows raised slightly in surprise.

"Shut up," Don said in embarrassment.

"I didn't say anything," Charlie protested.

"Yeah, well, don't say a word of this to Dad. I don't need the added pressure. You know he'll be planning a wedding in no time, and I haven't gotten that far. We haven't talked about _that_ at all."

"Ok."

"I mean it," Don said.

"I won't say anything," Charlie said. "When's he getting here anyway?"

"He'll be here in a couple of hours. Colby and David will pick him up at the airport."

Charlie nodded and didn't say anything for a few minutes.

Don watched him and couldn't help noticing that Charlie seemed uncomfortable about something. Like he wasn't sure if he was welcome. He was staring up at the ceiling, short curls a chaotic mess, and an arm draped across his stomach, almost protectively. From this angle Don couldn't see the bruise, and Don wanted to know what had caused it. Because if he had been doing something illegal, and also something not dangerous, then there was no real need for a massive bruise and injured ribs. Something wasn't adding up. Or a lot of things weren't adding up, and Charlie was being entirely uncooperative while pretending to be forthcoming. Don didn't want to take it anymore.

"So," Don said nonchalantly. "If I were to mention to the Director, let's say, that you were back and had been involved in some less than legal activities, would he know what I'm talking about?"

Charlie turned his head to look at Don, an uncertain expression crossing his face. "I don't know. But you're not going to tell him about that."

Don shrugged.

"You're not," Charlie said. "You said you wouldn't."

"I said I wouldn't tell anyone if _I knew what it was_," Don corrected. "But I don't. I have to guess."

Charlie rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Don."

"And you know I don't like not knowing about things. Just like finding out _years_ after the fact that there was an incident involving you and pills."

"That again?" Charlie said disbelievingly. "We've talked about it."

"Not nearly enough, buddy. So since you're not telling me everything, I'm going to have to start an investigation."

Charlie snorted in disgust. "Don, you're being unreasonable."

"You did not just use that word with me."

Charlie rolled his eyes again. "Very unreasonable," he amended.

"Fine," Don muttered. "I'm calling the Director."

"You wouldn't," Charlie said dismissively.

"I would."

"I can play that way too, you know," Charlie said, glaring at him. "Maybe I'll call _my_ boss."

"Since most of us haven't even _heard_ of your organization, that's not exactly making me worried," Don replied. He knew he sounded a bit childish, but he didn't care if it was going to make Charlie talk.

"Fine, I'll call the President or something," Charlie snapped back.

Don narrowed his eyes at Charlie to try and decide if he meant it or not. Charlie glared back for a good few moments before laughing. "Yeah, ok, I don't have the President on speed-dial or anything."

"Have you met the President?" Don asked.

"The previous one a couple of times, but not for anything to do with the IIC. I did some consulting work for the White House."

"Of course you did. You've consulted for just about everyone in the country at some point or another," Don muttered moodily. "And they pay you way too much money to do it."

Charlie looked over at him briefly but chose not to reply.

"I mean, if you spend 10 grand or so on a damn horse…" Don moodily continued. "You must just be swimming in it."

Charlie looked over at him again. "It was actually 60 grand for the horse," he admitted.

Don looked at him incredulously. "You spend sixty _thousand_ dollars on a _horse_?"

Charlie shrugged. "Seemed like a good idea at the time. And it still does, actually. Marjolie does really well with Maddie, and she's a mare, so it's really an investment."

"You can't possibly expect any sort of return on that," Don scoffed.

"Well, no. It was a gift. But still."

"They have horses in the US, you know," Don pointed out. "Cheap ones probably, too."

Charlie laughed. "Yeah, but a grand prix dressage horse can't just be picked up anywhere. Plus you apparently pay for the breeding and whatever else. I don't really care. She wanted the horse and I bought it, and I don't regret it."

"Yeah, but sixty thousand dollars?"

"What else should I do with it?" Charlie asked. "Money doesn't really mean anything to me, which I realize is easy to say when you have more than enough to live comfortably with."

"So why charge so much of it?" Don asked.

"Because… it's not exactly easy work," Charlie said. "And I'm not saying your work is easy, so don't get offended. It's just, if I don't charge it, then I will be bombarded with requests from every single agency on every single case there is. And I don't have that kind of time."

"Fair enough, but what if there is an organization that simply can't afford to pay you hundreds of thousands of dollars to look at their stuff, but still really need you?"

"Then they can be referred by colleagues," Charlie said with a shrug. "I lower my fees for a lot of people. Anyway, I'm not asking you how much you get paid, so can we change the subject?"

"I know one person who is going to be really thrilled that you're not into Marjolie anymore," Don said.

"Oh?" Charlie said with interest.

"Colby's had a crush on her since they met."

Charlie laughed. "Well, then, you can tell him to go for it. I don't mind."

Don looked at him skeptically. "You really don't mind if she goes out with Colby?"

"I really don't mind," Charlie said with a nod. "Seriously, Don. If they want to go out, they can go out."

"Ok," Don said. "I'll let Colby know."

"Good."

"Good."

They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence again, and Don was starting to wish Alan was there. His father always knew what to say, and maybe things wouldn't be quite so awkward. It shouldn't be this hard to be in the same room as his brother.

Charlie had fallen asleep.

Don watched him for a few moments before picking up his cell and calling Lauren.

"Hi, darling," she answered cheerfully. "How is Charlie?"

"Fine. Great, he's sleeping," Don said, distractedly. "Hey, you can come home, you know, if you want."

"Ok, well, we're still at the gallery, and we might go out for dinner afterwards," Lauren said. "Are you sure Charlie doesn't mind that I'm staying there?"

"Of course he doesn't mind," Don said. "And I live here too."

"Yes, but you moved in after he left. Have you asked him if he's ok with you living at the house?"

Don scowled at that a moment. He hadn't even thought about asking Charlie's permission to stay at the house. Charlie hadn't seemed to mind when he'd first come home, but they would obviously need to have a serious discussion about that. Great, add it to the list. "I'll ask him," he told Lauren. "But I'm sure he doesn't mind. He's told me plenty of times to move in."

"In the past," Lauren said. "But we don't have to talk about this now." She sounded cheerful and Don could hear a couple of her girlfriends chatting excitedly in the background. He wished he was at the gallery with her, despite it being something he would normally hate.

"Yeah, ok," Don said distracted. "I just wish this wasn't so awkward."

"Awkward?" Lauren repeated. "Well, I would imagine a lot has happened to both of you in the last eight months. Try not to give him the third degree, honey. If you'll just be patient, I'm sure he'll tell you everything at some point."

"I wasn't giving him the third degree," Don protested.

"Honey, I know you better than you think," Lauren teased. "You're pushing him for information, and he's being stubborn about it. Some things are classified, you know? He might not be allowed to tell you what you want to know. Be patient."

"Alright, alright," Don said agreeably. Maybe he had been too hard on Charlie. "I'll talk to you later?"

"Yes, I'll call you after dinner," Lauren said before disconnecting the call.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Interrogation


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Interrogation

Don decided that since his father wouldn't be home for a few hours yet, he would have to make dinner, which involved ordering pizza. Once that was taken care of, he decided that what he and Charlie would need to do to get over their awkwardness, was just to not discuss anything to do with Charlie's disappearance. They would need a neutral topic. Afterall, when Colby and David had been there, things had been perfectly fine. Don determinedly walked back into the living room, where Charlie had woken up from his quick nap.

"Can't sleep?" Don asked.

"No," Charlie said, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes. "This is going to kill me."

"Maybe you just need to get drunk," Don suggested with a quick laugh.

Charlie laughed as well. "Yeah, no, that would not be helpful."

"I ordered pizza," Don said casually.

Charlie nodded in reply.

"So, I just wanted to make sure…you don't mind that I moved in here, do you? I mean, at the time I thought it would be better for Dad to be with someone, you know? But I've got to admit, it's been pretty great to come home to a home rather than an empty apartment, you know? And I'm not trying to guilt you into letting me stay here, and I can pay rent, if you want."

"You don't have to pay rent," Charlie said with a slightly incredulous expression. "And of course I don't mind if you stay here."

"I just wanted to make sure. It's your house. Sometimes you must just want everyone out."

Charlie laughed quietly. "Well, yeah. But that doesn't mean I actually want to live here by myself. That would be way too quiet. Besides, if you live here, I don't have to feel guilty about leaving Dad here alone when I'm away."

"Luckily you're never going away again in your life," Don said with a grin. "Dad will be installing deadbolts and motion detectors as soon as he gets back."

Charlie laughed again, but Don could sense that something wasn't quite right about him. "What?" he asked.

Charlie looked at him uncertainly. "I might not be staying all that long."

"You're not disappearing again," Don said determinedly. "Even if I have to quit my job and become your personal bodyguard, I don't care. You're not going anywhere."

"It's not the same situation," Charlie said placatingly. "But I may have a… business trip to go on in a month or two? I don't know yet."

"If you do I'm coming with you," Don said.

"Uh, no?" Charlie said. "You don't need to watch my every move, you know."

"Yes, I do. You don't tell people when you're disappearing."

Charlie rolled his eyes. "Ok, we'll talk about it later. I'm going to try and sleep for a bit, alright? Wake me up before Dad gets here. I don't want to be ambushed."

Don shrugged casually and watched Charlie walk up the stairs. After a few minutes he picked up the phone and called David, asking him if he and Colby would mind picking Alan up at the airport. David assured him he didn't mind, and Don thanked him and hung up the phone.

Don sat back in his chair and stared at the stairs, where Charlie had walked up only moments before. He was very suspicious of the story Charlie had been telling him and knew it was full of holes. There had to be more to it than 'we went to a couple of places in Europe and then holed up in Africa.' And then there was the illegal thing Charlie had apparently been a part of. What in the world would _Charlie_ do that would be considered illegal? It wouldn't be anything violent, that was certain. Had anything come across his desk or been in the news lately that Charlie could have had a hand in? Don tried to think back the last eight months or so and what had all happened in the news. Then he remembered Agent MacRooney, and her quest to find Charlie to help her with a massive fraud case. A case that had involved billions of dollars, and banks from all over the world. Don remembered meetings in the conference room that he hadn't been part of, but that had included people from INTERPOL and the CIA and other fraud agencies. Lauren had been part of the meetings because it had involved computers and hacking. Something Charlie was awfully good at.

The case had yet to be solved, and since it was a one time event, where billions of dollars had vanished from banks all over the world, the trail was getting very cold. If Charlie was involved in this, and if he were ever caught, dozens of countries would want his head, and he would certainly spend the rest of his life in prison.

Well then, Don would just have to make sure Charlie was never caught.

The doorbell rang and Don opened it to find the pizza delivery man. He had completely forgotten about ordering, and awkwardly searched in his wallet for the appropriate change. The pizza-guy left, and Don set the boxes down on the kitchen table. He had ordered a few pizzas, because he wasn't sure when exactly his father would be home or if he even wanted anything to eat, and if Colby and David would want to stay for a bite. That and pizza for breakfast was always appealing.

Don eyed his cellphone and debated calling up Jane MacRooney to ask for an update on the case. See if they had made any headway. With a determined frown he dialed her number and waited. Then he remembered it was Saturday. After the third ring she breathlessly picked up.

"Hi Jane, it's Don Eppes," Don said, mentally kicking himself for having called in the first place.

"Don," she answered in surprise. "What's up?"

"You working on a Saturday?" Don asked.

"Well you know, still working on that case… we've got so many agencies all over the world that I had to come in today for a couple of conference calls."

"Making any headway?" Don asked, trying to sound casual.

"Nope."

"Oh. I just wanted to let you know my brother is back in town-" Don had to hold the phone away from the resulting shriek.

"Charlie's home? Oh, can I speak to him?"

"Well, he just got back a few hours ago," Don said, "And he's actually asleep. And you know, there's still the clearance thing…"

"Oh I'll get him clearance," Jane said stubbornly. "Can you have him call me as soon as he's up to it? His help would be the greatest thing ever, seriously. Plus, if he helps us solve this case, it would probably go a long way with his status with the FBI and CIA and all of that."

"Yeah, you're right," Don agreed. "I'll let him know you want to talk to him. Can't promise he'll call this weekend though."

"Ok, that's ok," Jane said. "Any help at all would be absolutely wonderful."

Don said goodbye and disconnected the call. If Charlie could insert himself into the investigation, then he could also make sure the investigation didn't lead back to him, Don figured. But then again, he couldn't be sure Charlie was even involved. He'd only been back a few hours and Don was already accusing him of serious crimes. Don shook his head and picked a slice of pizza. He was hungry.

If Charlie was the one who had stolen all this money, then he would have had a very good reason for doing so, Don figured. And but then again it was billions of dollars. Where had the money gone? As far as any of the experts had ever been able to figure it had simply vanished. Charlie suddenly wasn't any richer. Or maybe he was, Don wouldn't know. But Charlie certainly wouldn't steal money for himself. Would he? Don decided he needed to tell Charlie about Jane MacRooney's case. And more importantly, see his brother's reaction to it.

Don took the stairs two at a time and walked into Charlie's room, where his brother was sprawled across the bed, sound asleep. Don looked at him critically for a moment, took in the arm draped protectively across his stomach and the bruise on his face. Don suddenly didn't believe anything Charlie had told him in the past few hours. Angrily, he stepped forward and unceremoniously yanked Charlie's t-shirt up. Charlie yelped and leaped to his feet.

"Don! The hell?"

"What was that?" Don demanded. In the brief glimpse he'd had, he'd seen serious bruising and a suspicious-looking scar that he was certain hadn't been there before Charlie had disappeared. "You're lying to me, Charlie. That doesn't just look like bruised ribs to me. That's one heck of a scar." Don was suddenly feeling very queezy. He sat down on the bed and lowered his head in his hands for a brief moment to avoiding vomiting. He looked up at Charlie, who was staring at him with wide eyes. "Did you get shot or something?" Don demanded, afraid of the answer.

Charlie looked guilty and then shook his head. "A long time ago, it's not important."

"Not important?" Don demanded incredulously. "It's not important that you were _shot_?"

"I didn't want you to worry, and there's nothing you can do about it now. It's healed, it's fine, I'm fine. Don't tell Dad."

"I'm not going to tell Dad," Don muttered, sinking down on the bed. "When did that happen?"

"On the way to South Africa," Charlie said. "It wasn't… I was lucky. It didn't hit anything vital."

"Well that's great," Don said sarcastically. "As long as it didn't hit anything vital."

"Look, I'm sorry, ok?" Charlie said, sitting down beside Don.

"Not ok," Don replied stubbornly. Charlie wasn't going to get away with this, he decided. His brother was being far too secretive for Don's liking.

Charlie shrugged. "I don't know what you want me to say."

"How about the truth?" Don suggested. "Anyway, I just got off the phone with Jane MacRooney. She'd like your help with an international fraud case her department has been working on for a month or two."

"Oh?" Charlie said, sounding far too casual for Don's liking.

"Yeah, something about some hackers siphoning funds from accounts. They have no leads."

"I can certainly take a look," Charlie said slowly. "But, you know, with my clearance…"

"She said she'd take care of it," Don said, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. Charlie was keeping his gaze firmly on the opposite wall, and that meant guilt to Don. "So, if you help her out with the investigation, you'll be able to make sure it doesn't lead back to you."

Charlie looked over at him in surprise. "Who says I have anything to do with it?"

"Oh, I don't know," Don said casually. "Maybe because it's a pretty massive case that could only have been pulled off by a couple of geniuses in coding and hacking and you mentioned you'd done something illegal. So are you a billionaire now?"

Charlie shook his head in annoyance. "Don…"

"Excuse me for caring," Don added moodily.

Charlie looked over at him and couldn't help laughing at Don's expression. Don rolled his eyes. "Look, Charlie, seriously. Really seriously this time. Getting shot is not a little thing. It's a big thing. It's a thing that you need to tell me, if for no other reason than if you have some sort of medical emergency in the future and the doctor needs a complete medical history. That's all, no argument. I would tell you these things."

"Really?" Charlie asked skeptically.

"Yeah," Don said, lying smoothly. He absolutely wouldn't tell Charlie anything, but then Don was an FBI agent, and getting shot was part of the job. Besides, he'd tell David or Colby, and he'd be at a hospital in town, where they kept adequate records. It wasn't nearly the same thing.

"You are such a hypocrite," Charlie said as if he could read Don's thoughts. "You would not tell me anything. You've been nearly shot a million times since I started consulting for you."

"_Nearly _is not the same as _actually_," Don informed him.

"Whatever," Charlie said with a shrug. "I was shot _twice_ when we were escaping Milan. Neither was serious enough to require surgery, so I just stayed at the compound in South Africa until I was well enough to do some….illegal things to get the price off my head."

"There is no such thing as a gunshot wound that isn't serious," Don said stubbornly.

"Alright, well, one was a graze on the side of my head, and the other just hit my ribs. Broke a couple of them." Charlie lifted his shirt to show Don the scar that ran over his bottom two ribs on the left side. It was a fairly neat scar, all things considering. "The only real issue was stopping the bleeding, but once that was under control it was ok."

Don nodded. "And your head?"

"It's fine. It just needed a few stitches."

"That's the truth?"

"Yeah, that's the truth."

"And this fraud case MacRooney wants your help on? You know nothing about that?"

Charlie looked doubtful for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, I _might_ have had a hand in it. And I don't need you to fix anything for me," he added seriously. "It's under control. You'll just get me in more trouble."

Don ran his hands through his hair. "Dammit Charlie," he exclaimed. "That's a _billion_ dollar fraud case!"

"Yeah, I'm aware," Charlie replied indifferently.

"It's not nothing! It's people's money! I know money doesn't mean anything to _you_, but I bet these people that you _stole_ from feel differently."

Charlie stood very quickly and spun around to face Don. "I don't need you to tell me why what I did was wrong. I'm well aware that I'm facing a few hundred years in jail if I'm caught. I didn't do it by choice, remember?"

"Yeah, you did. You chose to steal this money. You said you were safely holed up in Africa, so there was no need to do it, was there?"

"You know what," Charlie snapped. "Why don't I just go back there then? If you'd rather."

"Don't be ridiculous," Don replied.

"I'm not being ridiculous," Charlie snapped. "You're the one that keeps pushing me to tell you what's happened and then _lectures_ me when I do!"

"I'm not lecturing," Don said indignantly. "I just think there had to have been a better way than to steal from thousands of people."

"I didn't steal from thousands of people," Charlie said. "I stole from a few hundred _corporations_ that regularly deal with the Ninth Alliance. This isn't a big deal."

"Except you'll get caught, and you'll go to jail," Don said. "I don't understand why you don't think what you did was wrong."

"I do understand, Don. I'm well-versed in US and international law. But you have to understand my predicament in all of this. I really had a very limited amount of options. I'm sure I could have stayed in Africa for the rest of my life, but I thought – and maybe I was wrong – that you and Dad wouldn't want to spend the rest of your lives wondering where I've gone. And I don't know that I could spend all that time away from my family and my friends. It just didn't seem like an option at the time. And yeah there were other things we could have done, and a few that we did try, but in the end we decided that if we did just one thing for them, then they would drop the whole thing and I'd be safe again, and sorry, but that was important to me."

"Ok, ok," Don agreed. Maybe he had been overreacting. He didn't know all the details, after all.

"You're being really hard on me about this, Don. When you go on an undercover case, you don't tell me and Dad everything you're doing or that happens, do you? You need to think of this as the same."

Don frowned at looked at Charlie skeptically. "It just doesn't feel the same," he admitted.

"Yeah, because this time it's not you that's being left in the dark," Charlie said quietly.

Don ran his hands through his hair again. "I'm starving," he muttered.

Charlie laughed. "Did the pizza come?"

"Yeah, it came. Let's get a bite to eat. Dad and Colby and David are on their way, they should be here soon."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Compromises


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Compromises

It had been five months since Charlie had arrived at the South Africa Compound, and he was getting bored. He hadn't been off the property once; Jimmy Dean thought it was far too dangerous. Thanks to the stealing of the plane that had gotten them to Africa in the first place, the Ninth Alliance was guaranteed to have people in Saldanha and its surrounding areas, and they would know what to look for. So he had stayed put. And while the compound was sprawling and had many amenities, Charlie wanted nothing more than to get out.

A few months earlier, he and Anna had taken the Ninth Alliance accounts hostage, which had been retaliated very quickly by having the price on Charlie nearly doubled, and a price being put on Anna for good measure. Their hackers had been furiously trying to trace the accounts and retrieve their money, but so far Anna and Charlie had stayed a few steps ahead of them, moving the money every time it seemed they were getting close.

But the Ninth Alliance was still getting money somewhere, because they weren't making any offers, until a day a bit more than 4 months into Charlie's stay at the compound, when they received a message from IIC headquarters. Apparently they had been contacted by Ninth Alliance representatives, and they wanted to make a deal. The IIC had accepted on Charlie's behalf, and whether he liked it or not, he was now awaiting the arrival of a Ninth Alliance Agent, who was being driven to the compound by Jimmy Dean.

"I still think this is a horrendous idea," Charlie muttered for perhaps the fifth time in the last hour.

Anna looked up at him from the book she was reading. "I know you do."

"It just doesn't seem like it guarantees our safety at the end of it all, you know?"

"I know."

"But I guess we have no choice."

"No we don't." Anna couldn't help but laugh. "Relax, Charlie. Go work on your numbers for a little while. You'll feel better about the whole thing."

Charlie shook his head moodily. "No I won't."

"Ok, but you'll stop pacing in front of me and _I'll_ feel better," Anna said with a laugh. "C'mon, Charlie, please? I know this whole thing is awful, I feel the same way as you, and so do Kate and Jimmy Dean. But the IIC already said we would do this, so let's do it, and then hopefully we can all put this behind us. We've been hiding out for nearly six months now, and I want this to end."

Charlie sighed and dropped down in a chair. "Yeah, ok. I'll stop stressing out about this."

"Good, because I don't want you to get another headache."

"They're not stress induced," Charlie told her.

"So you keep saying, but you keep getting them, and it has me worried. Maybe once this is over we should have you looked at. It could be trauma or something left from that wound…"

"That was months ago," Charlie said. "And it's completely healed."

"But you'll still go see someone, right?"

"Sure," Charlie agreed.

"Good. We can maybe be out of here in a couple of days, you realize," Anna said, closing her book and looking at him intently. "Have you thought about that at all?"

"Uh, no," Charlie said, a worried expression crossing his face. "Why?"

"Charlie," Anna said patiently. "We've been _together_ now for five months. You haven't thought about us and what we should do once we resume with real life?"

Charlie smiled sheepishly. "Well, you know me, I have no clue about these things. I just… I thought we'd keep doing what we're doing now."

"Of course, but we do have real life to think about," Anna said seriously. "For instance, I live in New York. You don't like New York."

"Ever considered moving?" Charlie suggested hopefully.

Anna smiled. "Not really, no. But I might be interested in doing so if you were wanting to keep going with this. I don't have family in New York. Actually, I'm hardly ever there, I travel too much. But you do most of your work from your home, so maybe it would be ok if I moved."

"Do you want to move in with me?" Charlie asked. "I have a pretty big house, and I know my Dad lives with me, but that shouldn't be an issue, I don't think. I'll check with him of course, and if he would rather we didn't, then we could just get a different place."

Anna nodded. "Right. Good. That's settled then. But we should give it a few weeks, once this is done. We've been together without a break for months now, and while I love you and all, we should just take a short break, just a breather, I guess."

Charlie couldn't help but laugh. "Ok, if that's what you want."

"It's not what you want?"

"I don't really need a breather," Charlie said with a shrug. "But if you're moving, you'll need some time to get everything in order, right? So it's not a bad idea."

"Ok," Anna said with a nod. "And just so you know, it's not because I want to break up or anything."

"I didn't think it was," Charlie said. "And anyway, I'm oblivious to all things relationship related, so you know you have to spell it all out for me. I don't notice these things one way or another."

Anna nodded and picked up her book. "I noticed that."

"Hey, at least I admit it," Charlie protested with a laugh.

They were silent for a few minutes before Kate walked into the room. "Jimmy Dean is on his way," she said. "And he's picked up a Ninth Alliance Agent."

"Everything went well then?" Anna asked.

"Yeah. So far they're following the rules. No tracking devices, she's agreed to be drugged for the trip down here… we'll see what happens when she actually arrives though."

"Let's hope everything goes well and we can be out of here in a couple of days," Charlie said.

An hour later, the Ninth Alliance agent – whose name was Julaea - had woken from her drugged state and was informing Charlie and Anna what they would have to do for their safeties. They were meeting in the bunker since it had no windows and they didn't want to give away their location to Julaea. So far, her explanation had been fairly satisfactory to Charlie and Anna. Both of them were wary of having to do anything that may be ethically questionable.

Julaea explained that the Ninth Alliance did business with many different corporations and governments, quite a few of whom owed money. The amounts totaled into the multi-millions, and the Ninth Alliance was having trouble collecting its debts. That's where Charlie and Anna came in. If they could hack individual bank accounts and transfer the money to Ninth Alliance accounts without it being traced, then they would be considered off the hook for previous infractions. Which meant they could go home without fear of being killed.

"It's not going to be easy," Anna said thoughtfully once Julaea had finished her explanation.

"You were expecting something easy?" Julaea questioned. "You're both among the most talented hackers and coders in the world. The Ninth Alliance isn't going to give a get-out-of-jail-free card for just any reason."

"We weren't expecting you to," Charlie replied. "But we're talking hundreds of banks, many of whom will have complex security systems. It's not going to be accomplished in a couple of days."

"The Ninth Alliance would like the transfer done on one day," Julaea said.

Charlie sighed and scribbled in a notebook. "Maybe with a lot of planning…" he said thoughtfully. "If we do some careful spying and hacking for a week or so, then create a program…" He looked over at Anna, who nodded.

"Charlie and I have done something similar in the past," Anna said.

"Yes, we're aware," Julaea said wryly. "You will, of course, return our own accounts to us as well?"

"Of course," Anna murmured. "With some safety programs installed. Anything happens to Charlie or me and you can kiss your money goodbye."

"We have agreed to your safety once this is completed," Julaea said with a casual shrug. "The Ninth Alliance and the International Intelligence Cooperation have always been able to coexist peacefully."

"Yeah, until you tried to get us killed," Jimmy Dean said from his post by the doorway. "And you succeeded. One of my agents is dead."

"Charlie's work with the NSA directly resulted in the arrest of several Ninth Alliance members. They were arrested for terrorism and related charges," Julaea said casually. "As you may be aware, they will not survive the experience. I'd say we're about square."

Jimmy Dean snorted in disgust. "What is this, kindergarten?"

Julaea chose to ignore him and turned her attention to Charlie and Anna. "You may, of course, take as much time as you require to adequately complete your assignment," she told them. "I will be required to be present at the time you intend to launch the program."

"Of course," Anna said. "We can have a room set up in the bunker if you want to stay here."

Julaea looked around the concrete room with disdain. "Really, this is unnecessary-"

"We're not letting you see the actual compound," Jimmy Dean protested incredulously. "Obviously we'd prefer to keep its location safe from you guys incase you decide to order a hit on one of us again."

Julaea shrugged and stood. "Very well, show me the room."

Kate stood from her chair. "Follow me."

The two disappeared down the hallway.

"I think we'll be able to do it, Charlie," Anna said thoughtfully. "And we could probably use nearly the same program you created to move the Ninth Alliance accounts."

"Yes, they would just need to be adjusted for each bank account," Charlie said. He was already scribbling a complex formula in his notebook. "It's going to take a couple of days."

"Well, I'll leave you to it then," Jimmy Dean said. "Kate will guard our guest for a few hours, which means I'd better get some sleep now so I can take over for her later." When there was no reply from either Charlie or Anna, he rolled his eyes and left them to their algorithms and formulas.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Tribulations


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Tribulations

Charlie and Anna took three weeks to finish creating programs to hack the several hundred accounts the Ninth Alliance wanted transferred. During her stay at the compound, Julaea kept mostly to her room, and didn't interfere in Charlie's work or try to escape the bunker. In fact, she was almost a pleasure to have around, as she was a well-educated and extremely intelligent woman. She and Jimmy Dean had fantastic arguments that were tremendously entertaining to watch for the rest of them, and Kate had found a chess opponent who didn't beat her in ten minutes or less.

Anna and Charlie enjoyed the challenge in creating programs to hack a large variety of security systems, and felt fairly confident that while what they were doing was illegal in every sense, it at least wasn't entirely unethical. Well, maybe it was, but they preferred to think they were dealing with corrupt organizations anyway, and therefore didn't need to feel guilty in the least. The money would have made its way to the Ninth Alliance eventually anyway, they just had a more violent and often deadly way of collecting debts.

On the day of the launch, everyone gathered around the computer screens in anticipation, and watched with fascination as the programs were launched and began to siphon money from banks all over the world and transfer it to secret accounts elsewhere. It was pretty amazing to watch. Anna and Charlie were making sure the banks' own security personnel were not able to backtrace their programs, but as a whole, the security personnel were nowhere near Anna's level at hacking. So it all went without a hitch.

When the transfers were complete, Julaea thanked them for their assistance and their hospitality, and Jimmy Dean drove her to Saldanha.

When he returned, the others had begun to pack up their things. Julaea had told them to wait a day before leaving the compound, as she would need to communicate with Ninth Alliance Headquarters to ensure everything had worked out as it should. She sent an email to an encrypted address the next day to tell them they were in the clear.

Charlie, Anna, Jimmy Dean and Kate had a celebratory dinner and began to strategize a way out of the country. Since they had stolen a plane to get into South Africa in the first place, none had the appropriately stamped passports and visas, and Charlie didn't have a passport at all. The plane they had stolen to get them to the country had been ditched in the South Atlantic by Jimmy Dean and Kate, and so they could no longer use it. That and images of their escape and escort by a fighter jet had been blasted all over CNN.

They finally decided to buy their way onto a trans-Atlantic freighter that would take them to a port city somewhere in the US. The Compound had emergency stashes of money that was more than enough to buy off even the choosiest captain.

On the day of their departure, Jimmy Dean drove them to Saldanha, and he spent an hour chatting with locals to find a freighter ship that would accept passengers that had no papers. In the end, they secured passage aboard a ship, and they began their month-long journey to the States.

It was a long month in cramped quarters, with the four of them sharing a small cabin the size of an average closet. The company, however, was fantastic. Most of the crew spoke limited English, but that didn't stop them from including the four passengers in nightly games of poker and dice, especially once they realized that Charlie was a master at playing both. He was soon recruited to teach all he knew of every single card game in existence, including the many ways to cheat.

Jimmy Dean spent many hours with the Captain of the ship learning about sea-navigation and Africa, and Anna took a look at the outdated GPS and other computer systems on the ship and reprogrammed and tweaked them to perform to their maximum. All in all, they were almost sad when their voyage was nearing its end.

Charlie was glad that all his injuries had healed and that he would at least be able to go home without a scratch on him. Maybe Don and his father would be less pushy about details if it appeared he hadn't been hurt in his time away.

Unfortunately, once they reached United States waters it all fell apart again. In the middle of the night, Jimmy Dean was summoned to the wheelhouse by the Captain, who directed his attention to a moving light on the horizon. It was a US coast-guard ship. As it turned out, the plane Kate and Jimmy Dean had dumped into the ocean had been found, and the local authorities had deduced that the hijackers had left the country either via land or via ship, and sent out alerts to ports everywhere to be on the lookout for stowaways on ships that had left Saldanha. And so, with land within sight, Charlie, Anna, Jimmy Dean and Kate had been forced to evade the Coast Guard by jumping ship. Luckily the wily Captain of the freighter had seen the Coast Guard coming from miles away, and had generously provided the small group with lifevests and a small rubber lifeboat. The small group left the freighter in the dead of night with no lights on board, and started off away from the busy port and toward a more secluded section of beach..

Jimmy Dean complained about the Coast Guards' overeager policies the entire way to shore, and even more so when about a mile out their little boat with no light had been nearly rammed by another ship, and they had all been dumped into the water. Their belongings were all strapped down, though Anna's laptops were most likely a write-off. Luckily, no one was seriously injured. Charlie got a pretty nasty bump to the head and a few bruised ribs. Anna broke her wrist.

But they made it to land, and they were able to casually disappear into the nearby city before sun-up. Now that they were back in the United States, they each parted ways. Charlie made it home five days later.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Conclusions


	17. Chapter 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Conclusions

"Dad's going to be really mad, you know," Don told Charlie, who was sprawled in a chair with his eyes closed.

Charlie shrugged and nodded. "Yeah."

"He's going to be furious."

"Yeah."

"And he's not going to let you out of his sight for months. Maybe even years."

"Yeah, I know." Charlie agreed, opening his eyes. "But you understand, right? You're not angry with me anymore?"

Don looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I understand now, Charlie. And I don't think I was ever really angry with you. Just…terrified. Incredibly terrified that you were dead, or being tortured somewhere or held captive." Don shrugged. "There were so many scenarios running through my head. Every single case I've ever worked on seemed to come back to me, only with your name and your face as the victim. With those people…Those people who wanted you dead, they are scary people, Charlie. People who have no problems whatsoever to hurt someone. And that part I still don't understand. The IIC and the Ninth Alliance, and how you can both be so _casual_ about the things you deal with…So I guess in some ways I do understand, and in some ways I don't. And I still don't think what you did…that fraud case…I think that was a horrible idea that's going to come back to haunt you and them and maybe even me. But I understand you, and your thought-process in all this, and that really some things you don't have control over, just like I can't control the cases I work on with the FBI. Sometimes I get cases that I just really don't want to deal with, or put in situations where it seems any decision I make will have horrifying consequences for all sides. But I still have to decide. So I get that part."

Charlie nodded and was silent for a moment. "We're not casual about this stuff Don. We pretend to be…aloof? I don't know if that's a good word for it. But I can't sit here and wonder about things that might be going on in the world right now that I might be able to stop. I can't worry about codes I may not be able to crack on time, or encryptions that I have made that _they_ crack and get my team-mates killed. I can't do that. Donna was a very good friend, and she and I spent hours and days and weeks together working on projects. I'm not…I'm not casual about her being dead because she got in the way. I was the one that was supposed to be dead. It's _my_ fault she's dead." Charlie frowned and shook his head. "If I spend too much time thinking about that I will go crazy, Don. I will absolutely have a breakdown. And I can't do that, because then I can't work on other projects that may save hundreds of lives or just stop a sale of some sort of weapon or whatever. So I have to compartmentalize. I have to work on a project and then put it out of my head. I know with absolute certainty that what I did for the Ninth Alliance will come back to bite me. I _know it._ But I can't sit here and go through the what-ifs. I need to put it out of my head until the time comes that I _have_ to deal with it." Charlie sighed and looked at Don. "Make sense?"

"Yeah, that makes sense," Don said, trying not to sound worried. What Charlie was talking about sounded like the fastest way to a nervous-breakdown. But if he wanted to help Charlie, and make their home at least a safe place for him where he wouldn't be bombarded with questions and information, then the best way to do that was to stop pressuring him. He didn't want Charlie to feel like his home was a place that he also had to compress and compartmentalize and be different in. Don just wanted Charlie to be himself and be comfortable. "I'll try to talk to Dad and have him give you a break," Don told Charlie.

Charlie nodded and smiled. "Thanks. He's not going to let up about this whole thing, and I can't tell him everything."

"Especially not the part about you being shot," Don agreed.

"Yeah, let's try to keep that one quiet," Charlie agreed with a laugh.

Don laughed and nodded. "Good."

"I might have something that will make him feel better about the whole thing," Charlie said.

"Oh?" Don said curiously.

"Yeah. Anna is moving in with me," Charlie said casually, closing his eyes again.

"_What_?" Don exclaimed. "Who's Anna?"

"Anna Monroe, the hacker," Charlie said, still with his eyes closed.

"You didn't say…You never…_You left that out of your story_!" Don exclaimed.

"Whoops," Charlie replied. "Is that a car?"

Don sighed in outrage and then walked over to open the door. Alan rushed through it just a moment later and had Charlie engulfed in a bear-hug before he could even get up from his chair.

"Thank God you're home, son," Alan said tearfully.

"Is there pizza?" Colby asked as he and David came in. "We're starving."

"Yeah there's pizza," Don said with a laugh. "In the kitchen. I'll just pop it in the oven to warm it up, though."

"You do that," David agreed, following Don and Colby in the kitchen.

"You can let go now, Dad," Charlie said.

"What happened to your face?" Alan demanded, holding Charlie at arms length.

"Nothing," Charlie said. "Nothing serious," he amended. "I just hit my head on something. Really. Let's go get some pizza, I'm hungry."

"You look a bit skinny," Alan agreed, herding Charlie to the kitchen. "It's a good thing I'm home. I can make you some lasagna tomorrow."

The End

Note from Paschka - So, that's it for now... Thanks everyone for reading and for leaving reviews and suggestions! I'm considering continuing this in another story that would deal with the consequences of what Charlie did... I'm not sure yet though. Anyway, thanks again for reading!


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